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RUSSELL  SAGE 
FOUNDATION 


SALESWOMEN 

IN  MERCANTILE 

STORES 

BALTIMORE,  1909 


BY 


ELIZABETH  BEARDSLEY  BUTLER 

n 

AUTHOR  OF  "WOMEN  AND  THE  TRADES" 


NEW   YORK 

CHARITIES    PUBLICATION 
COMMITTEE   .  .    MCMXII 


Copyright,  1912,  by 
THE  RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 


PRESS    OF   WM.    F.    FELL   CO. 
PHILADELPHIA 


PREFACE 

IN  the  latter  part  of  1908  the  Consumers' 
League  of  Maryland,  desiring  to  prepare  a 
"white  list"  of  stores,  asked  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation  to  send  Miss  Elizabeth  B.  Butler, 
who  had  recently  investigated  for  the  Pittsburgh 
Survey  the  conditions  under  which  Pittsburgh 
women  worked,*  to  make  a  similar  study  in 
mercantile  stores  in  Baltimore.  The  Foundation 
readily  acceded  to  this  request,  believing  that  it 
offered  an  opportunity  to  obtain  important  in- 
formation that  would  be  of  general  value.  The 
investigation  was  begun  in  January,  1909,  on  a 
co-operative  basis.  The  Consumers'  League  of 
Maryland  paid  Miss  Butler's  salary  and  expenses 
for  the  months  during  which  she  was  engaged  in 
the  examination  of  stores  in  Baltimore,  while  the 
Foundation  assumed  the  responsibility  for  her 
report  and  for  its  publication. 

While  this  report  deals  only  with  one  set  of 
industrial  conditions  in  a  single  city,  it  seems  wise 
to  publish  it.  It  tells  facts  which  are  accessible 
to  only  a  few  people  and  presents  the  particular 
situation  in  Baltimore  comprehensively.  It  is 

*See  Butler,  Elizabeth  B:  Women  and  the  Trades.  (The  Pitts- 
burgh Survey.)  Russell  Sage  Foundation  Publication.  New  York, 
Charities  Publication  Committee,  1909. 

V 

253822 


PREFACE 

hoped  that  the  volume  will  enable  the  public  as 
well  as  employers  in  Baltimore  to  understand 
local  working  conditions  better  and  lead  them  to 
give  more  thoughtful  attention  to  questions  affect- 
ing employes  and  store  management;  it  will  be 
suggestive  to  other  cities,  and  is  an  example  of 
fair  and  careful  work  which  should  be  imitated 
elsewhere.  Sweeping  conclusions  must  not,  how- 
ever, be  rashly  drawn  from  so  limited  a  study. 
For  a  wider  view  the  interesting  volume  entitled 
Wage-Earning  Women  in  Stores  and  Factories 
recently  issued  by  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce  and  Labor  should  be  con- 
sulted. This  gives  in  more  condensed  form  facts 
gathered  in  various  cities. 

During  the  months  that  were  spent  in  this  in- 
vestigation, Miss  Butler  got  a  clear  and  compre- 
hensive view  of  Baltimore  stores,  of  their  plans  and 
methods  of  operation  and  of  the  people  who  formed 
their  working  forces.  She  was  quiet  and  thought- 
ful and  thorough,  sympathetic  and  ready  to  enjoy 
all  sorts  of  people  and  so  made  friends  in  all  ranks. 
All  who  have  worked  with  her  feel  that  the  cutting 
short  of  her  career  by  tuberculosis  has  taken  from 
them  a  valued  friend  and  from  society  a  valuable 
worker. 

JOHN  M.  GLENN 

General  Director,  Russell  Sage  Foundation 


VI 


INTRODUCTION 

MERCANTILE  establishments  employ  a 
large  proportion  of  the  women  wage- 
earners  of  this  country.  Although  the 
types  of  saleswomen  vary  from  district  to  district, 
from  city  to  city,  yet  the  requirements  for  sales- 
manship in  all  cities  are  fundamentally  the  same. 
Whether  they  chance  to  be  in  small  houses  or  in 
large,  saleswomen  are  in  great  measure  in  a  class 
by  themselves.  Reaction  against  the  idea  of  the 
department  store,  demand  for  the  finer  sort  of 
merchandise,  and  appeal  to  an  exclusive  trade, 
have  brought  into  being  many  specialty  shops, 
but  their  greater  specialization  in  merchandise 
does  not  as  a  rule  mean  that  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  or  a  more  professional  attitude  is 
required  of  their  employes.  The  saleswoman 
in  a  small  specialty  house  or  in  a  neighborhood 
store  is  a  cog  in  a  small  wheel,  just  as  the  sales- 
woman in  a  department  store  is  a  cog  in  a  large 
wheel.  In  both  cases,  the  duties  of  her  occupation 
are  for  the  most  part  the  same. 

This  occupation,  simple  as  it  appears,  involves 
prompt  personal  adjustments  and  quick  under- 
standing. It  is  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  sales- 
woman, and  upon  her  attitude  to  the  customer, 

vii 


SALESWOMEN 

quite  as  much  as  upon  the  quality  of  the  goods, 
that  the  number  and  value  of  sales  depend.  The 
mercantile  house,  however  thorough  in  organiza- 
tion and  however  responsive  to  public  demand, 
must  in  the  last  analysis  rely  upon  its  sales  force 
for  success,  and  the  personal  efficiency  of  the  latter 
must  keep  pace  with  the  impersonal  efficiency  of 
store  organization.  To  secure  and  keep  at  its 
maximum  this  personal  efficiency  is  one  problem 
of  the  store  superintendent.  It  involves  not  only 
the  selection  of  new  employes,  but  the  conserva- 
tion of  the  health  and  interest  of  old  employes, 
and  in  consequence  is  intimately  connected  with 
the  interior  arrangements  of  the  store,  the  hours 
and  seasons  of  work,  the  range  of  wages,  and  the 
opportunity  for  advancement.  All  these  condi- 
tions directly  or  indirectly  influence*  the  attitude 
which  saleswomen  take  toward  their  occupation, 
and  the  attitude  with  which  they  meet  their 
customers.  Ultimately,  then,  upon  the  sum  of 
these  working  conditions  must  in  large  measure 
depend  the  success  of  the  industry.  These  con- 
ditions are,  therefore,  not  only  of  immediate  per- 
sonal importance  to  the  workingwomen  employed 
but  of  commercial  importance  to  their  employers. 
Progressive  employers  now  recognize  this  com- 
munity of  interest  and  in  consequence  give  practi- 
cal consideration  to  industrial  conditions. 

Moreover,  to  society  as  a  whole  these  conditions 
are  matters  of  deep  concern.  Individuals  and  or- 
ganizations, through  personal  efforts  and  reports, 

viii 


INTRODUCTION 

have  already  called  attention  to  certain  phases 
of  the  mercantile  industry,  such  as  the  hours 
of  work,  the  need  of  seats  for  women  employes, 
and  the  importance  of  more  businesslike  deal- 
ings with  employes.  Yet  valuable  as  these  efforts 
have  been,  the  public  has  no  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  subject.  Any  study  based  upon  an  inquiry 
into  but  one  side  of  a  question  must  be  partial 
in  its  findings  and  will  fail  to  be  convincing.  A 
knowledge  of  the  problems  of  employers  as  well 
as  of  employes  and  the  joint  relation  of  both 
groups  to  the  public  is  necessary.  With  this  in 
view,  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  the 
employment  situation  of  the  retail  mercantile 
industry  of  Baltimore  as  a  whole. 

Baltimore  appeared  to  be  an  especially  good 
field  for  such  a  study.  The  stores  there  have  not 
yet  reached  a  point  where  organization  is  so  com- 
plete and  extensive  as  in  those  of  Chicago,  Phila- 
delphia, and  New  York.  They  are  in  an  earlier 
stage  of  growth  and  consequently  more  adapted 
to  industrial  research.  Their  external  construc- 
tion and  internal  organization  are  less  difficult 
to  understand  and  describe;  processes  and  ten- 
dencies of  development  that  are  farther  advanced 
in  larger  cities  can  be  more  clearly  seen,  and  the 
study  of  conditions  in  this  smaller  community 
will  be  more  suggestive  for  the  guidance  of  other 
cities  of  equal  population. 

The  field  was  marked  off  at  the  outset  to  include 
only  larger  stores  approaching  the  department 

ix 


SALESWOMEN 

store  type.  The  small  stores  present  a  different 
problem.  The  study,  therefore,  arbitrarily  com- 
prises only  mercantile  establishments  in  which 
seven  or  more  saleswomen  are  employed.  The 
34  establishments  in  Baltimore  which  had  attained 
this  size  at  the  time  the  study  was  undertaken  in 
1909  form  the  basis  of  this  report. 

A  series  of  eleven  cards,*  each  covering  a  single 
subject  of  inquiry,  such  as  the  physical  conditions 
in  the  stores,  the  number  of  employes,  their  hours 
of  work  and  their  weekly  wages,  was  filled  out  by 
each  of  the  establishments  under  consideration. 
By  separating  the  different  subjects  of  inquiry 
and  assigning  them  to  separate  cards,  it  became 
possible  readily  to  make  cross-classification  in 
filing;  that  is,  the  cards  could  be  arranged  either 
according  to  mercantile  houses,  or  according  to 
subjects,  and  the  facts  with  regard  to  either  ob- 
tained at  once. 

In  undertaking  this  study,  I  had  the  aid  both  of 
the  heads  of  the  establishments  concerned  and  of 
their  employes.  Knowledge  of  the  physical  con- 
ditions was  obtained  mainly  by  personal  obser- 
vation. Sometimes  I  was  conducted  through  a 
store  by  the  courtesy  of  a  firm,  and  at  other  times 
I  entered  it  as  an  ordinary  customer.  The  num- 
ber and  occupations  of  employes  were  supplied 
by  officers  of  the  stores  visited.  Information  as 
to  weekly  wages,  details  of  welfare  work,  and 
general  facts  in  regard  to  the  nationality  of  em- 

*  For  facsimiles  of  these  cards  see  Appendix  A,  p.  175. 
X 


INTRODUCTION 

ployes,  were  also  obtained  partly  from  statements 
made  by  officials.  In  all  cases  the  purpose  of  this 
study  was  explained  to  officials  and  the  oppor- 
tunity given  them  to  state  the  policy  of  the  store 
in  regard  to  the  rate  of  advance  in  wages,  regularity 
of  employment,  the  terms  on  which  manufactur- 
ing hands  are  employed,  and  kindred  matters. 
These  statements  were  not  regarded  as  final  unless 
confirmed  by  further  testimony,  but  they  fre- 
quently served  as  valuable  indications  of  the  lines 
along  which  more  knowledge  was  essential,  and 
in  a  number  of  instances  were  fully  corroborated. 
In  the  matter  of  weekly  wages,  welfare  work, 
and  nationality,  as  well  as  hours  of  work  and 
irregular  wages,  statements  were  obtained  also 
through  intelligent  employes  who  had  been  for 
some  time  in  the  service  of  their  firms.  Here, 
again,  testimony  of  individuals  was  not  accepted 
as  final  without  corroboration  from  co-workers; 
the  agreement  of  a  number  of  individuals  unknown 
to  each  other  was,  however,  accepted  as  final.  I 
found  here  as  elsewhere  that  women  workers 
habitually  understated  their  disadvantages  or 
omitted  altogether  matters  of  fundamental  im- 
portance. It  was  not  suggested  to  employes 
that  they  were  being  treated  badly;  on  the 
contrary,  it  was  explained  to  them  just  as  it  had 
been  to  their  employers,  that  the  purpose  of  the 
study  was  to  find  out  the  best  things  that  were 
being  done  in  the  way  of  store  planning  and 
arrangement,  the  best  systems  in  regard  to  wages 

xi 


SALESWOMEN 

and  hours,  in  order  that  a  practical  standard  for 
the  industry  might  be  determined.  Where  the 
point  under  consideration  involved  a  major  policy 
of  the  store,  testimony  was  sought  both  from 
officials  and  from  employes  in  different  depart- 
ments as  well  as  from  others  indirectly  connected 
with  the  business,  until  the  facts  elicited  seemed 
to  be  established  beyond  question. 

The  advantage  of  an  accurate  presentation  of 
the  conditions  in  the  industry  was  so  apparent 
both  to  the  employers  and  to  the  employes  inter- 
viewed, and  the  desire  of  both  to  co-operate  in 
the  determining  of  a  practicable  mercantile  stan- 
dard was  so  evident,  that  I  offer  this  study  with 
confidence  in  the  accuracy  of  the  information 
upon  which  the  statements  are  based,  and  in  the 
belief  that  the  description  of  the  conditions  given 
is  representative. 

ELIZABETH  B.  BUTLER 


xn 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE       v 

INTRODUCTION vii 

I .  Store  Construction i 

II.  Seats  for  Saleswomen 19 

III.  Arrangements  for  Comfort  of  Employes       .     3 1 

IV.  Organization  of  Working  Force      ...     44 
V.  Hours  of  Work  .  .  .  .61 

VI.  Seasons  of  Work  and  Casual  Labor      .       .     83 

VII.  Wages  of  Women  Employes   .       .       .       .104 

VIII.  Modifications  of  Weekly  Wages     .       .       .123 

IX.  Beneficiary  Societies 135 

X.  Saleswomen  Themselves  .  .    143 

XI.  Training  in  Salesmanship        .        .        .        .159 


APPENDICES 

A.  CARDS   USED  IN  THE  INVESTIGATION     .       .175 

B.  SALESMANSHIP  INSTRUCTION  IN  BOSTON  .       .    187 

C.  SALESMANSHIP  CLASSES  IN  THE  STORE  OF  HALE 

BROTHERS,  SAN  FRANCISCO  ....  200 

INDEX 209 


Xlll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

A  Balcony  Diminishes  Air  Space  .  .  .  .12 
Wares  Supplant  Air  and  Daylight  .  .  .  .12 
A  Well  Lighted  Store  Building  .  .16 

Mingling  of  Gas  and  Electric  Light  .  .  .  .16 
Seats — but  not  for  Saleswomen  ....  22 

One  Seat  to  a  Counter 22 

A  Basement  Salesroom .28 

Portion  of  a  First  Floor  Salesroom  ....  28 
Rest  and  Toilet  Room  Combined  ....  34 

Hospital  Facilities. 34 

A  Well  Planned  Lunch  Room    .  .     38 

A  Bad  Lunch  Room.  .  .  .;.'.,.  .  .38 
Locker  and  Recreation  Room  Combined  .  .  42 
A  Screened  Rest  Room  ...  .  42 

The  Sales  Force  on  Duty 50 

Cash  Registers  Reduce  Messenger  Service      .       .     50 

A  Group  of  Saleswomen 54 

A  Cash  Girl  ....  ....     54 

Waiting  to  Serve  Lunch 126 

At  the  Six  O'clock  Closing  Hour      .       .       .       .126 


xv 


CHAPTER  I 
STORE  CONSTRUCTION 

BETWEEN  a  plan  of  construction  essential 
to  a  high  standard  of  health  and  one  neces- 
sitated by  stringent  economy,  the  transition 
states  in  the  evolution  of  a  department  store  are 
many  and  varied.  It  seldom  happens  that  mer- 
chants can  afford  to  build  largely  enough  at  first 
to  allow  for  ample  growth;  the  store  must  prove 
its  power  to  survive.  The  capacity  of  an  out- 
grown building  is  therefore  often  stretched  to  its 
extreme  limit,  annexes  of  doubtful  fitness  are 
forced  into  service,  and  inconvenience  reaches  the 
point  of  discomfort  before  expensive  alterations  or 
new  buildings  are  undertaken. 

CHARACTER  OF  BUILDINGS.  The  Baltimore 
stores  may  be  regarded  as  a  series  of  cross-sections 
showing  the  evolutionary  stages  of  a  final  building 
plan  for  mercantile  houses.  A  third  of  the  stores 
are  single  buildings,  some  of  them  constructed  for 
the  purpose  for  which  they  are  used.  Others, 
originally  constructed  as  flat  dwellings  with  stores 
on  the  ground  floor,  are  now  remodeled  within  to 
admit  of  continuous  stairways  and  of  storage  rooms 
for  stock.  A  few  stores  whose  main  buildings 


SALESWOMEN 

were  once  adequate  have  contented  themselves 
with  a  single  annex;  one  or  two  have  a  series  of 
such  additions;  and  one  store  has  apparently 
reached  its  maturity  in  an  annex  twice  the  height 
and  depth  of  the  original  building.  The  remaining 
stores,  probably  constituting  the  final  third  of 
the  whole  number,  can  be  classified  neither  into 
main  buildings  nor  into  annexes.  They  form  rather 
an  invertebrate  series  of  small  buildings,  strung 
together  by  connecting  doors  and  flights  of  steps, 
and  with  more  or  less  unevenly  matched  ceilings.* 
SLOPE  OF  THE  LAND.  The  rolling,  uneven  land 
upon  which  the  city  has  been  built,  is  in  part 
responsible  for  the  difficulty  of  using  in  combina- 
tion buildings  once  intended  to  be  separate. 
From  Howard  Street  to  Eutaw  Street  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Lexington  Street  there  is  a  steep  grade 
ascending  to  the  west.  On  the  west  side  of 
Howard  Street  the  entrances  to  the  main  floors  of 
stores  are  on  the  level  of  the  street.  Consequently, 
large  portions  of  these  main  floors  towards  the 
rear  are  below  ground,  require  artificial  light,  and 
are  difficult  to  ventilate.  In  other  cases,  where 
side  entrances  have  been  provided,  the  main  floor 
must  be  reached  by  either  an  incline  or  a  flight  of 
steps.  Such  difficulties  in  construction,  due  pri- 
marily to  the  slope  of  the  land,  are  found  not  only 

*  The  character  of  buildings  of  the  34  Baltimore  stores  upon  which 
this  study  is  based  was  as  follows:  single  building,  13;  main  building 
and  annex,  7;  main  building  and  series  of  annexes,  2;  small  buildings 
connected,  n;  small  buildings  connected  with  larger  annex,  i. 


STORE    CONSTRUCTION 

on  Howard  and  Lexington  Streets,  but  on  Eutaw 
Street  and  on  parts  of  Gay  Street. 

SHOW  WINDOWS.  Although  two-thirds  of  the 
stores  in  Baltimore  are  not  over  four  stories  in 
height,*  the  number  of  departments  is  often  as 
large  as  the  number  in  stores  several  times  their 
size;  show  windows  for  the  display  of  merchandise 
are  therefore  important.  The  essentials  of  a  show 
window  are  depth  and  sufficient  length  of  frontage 
to  allow  for  display  of  new  seasonal  materials 
without  neglect  of  those  always  carried  in  stock. 
The  crowding  of  buildings,  however,  along  the 
shopping  streets,  the  shallowness  of  some  of  the 
building  lots,  and  the  increase  in  quantities  of 
merchandise  within  doors,  have  resulted  in  en- 

*  Three  of  the  34  stores  had  2  floors,  15  had  3  floors,  7  had  4  floors, 
3  had  5  floors,  5  had  6  floors,  and  i  store  had  7  floors.  (When  a  store 
combines  several  buildings,  for  purposes  of  tabulation  the  building 
containing  the  greatest  number  of  floors  gives  tabular  reckoning  of 
number  of  floors  for  the  store.)  The  following  table  shows  how  the 
various  floors  are  utilized: 


Number  of  Stores  Using 

Purpose  for 

Which  Used 

Base- 

First 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Sixth 

ment 

Floor 

Floor 

Floor 

Floor 

Floor 

Floor 

Salesroom 

floors  

17 

34 

30 

'9 

7 

i 

Miflinery           j 

work  rooms  . 

10 

5 

2 

i 

Alteration 

rooms  

6 

7 

8 

i 

i 

Five  stores  used  the  2nd  or  3rd  floor  for  drapery  rooms,  and  4 
stores  used  the  4th,  5th,  or  6th  floor  for  kitchens. 


SALESWOMEN 

croachments  on  show-window  space  so  that  the 
depth  in  some  cases  is  not  more  than  two  feet. 
A  characteristic,  therefore,  of  the  show  windows  of 
Baltimore  is  their  shallowness;  although  a  four- 
foot  depth  is  not  unknown,  there  are  no  deep 
vistas  in  the  displays  of  merchandise.  This  show- 
window  space,  which  meagre  as  it  is  serves  for 
effective  advertisement,  is  separated  from  the 
interior  of  the  store  by  a  wooden  or  plate  glass 
partition  that  acts  as  a  blind  wall  against  the  ad- 
mission of  light  or  air.  When  the  first  floor  ceiling 
is  low,  and  sometimes  when  it  is  not  low,  the  parti- 
tion is  carried  to  the  ceiling,  in  order  to  give  the 
show  window  height  as  well  as  depth.  In  12 
cases  there  are  transoms  above  the  show  windows, 
below  the  ceiling  of  the  first  floor,  used  in  part  for 
additional  light,  in  part  for  direct  ventilation  in 
warm  weather.  In  four  of  these  stores  the  tran- 
soms are  one  foot  only  in  height;  in  seven  they  are 
two  feet  in  height,  and  one  store  has  transoms  four 
feet  high.*  Twenty-two  of  the  34  stores  have  no 
transoms  above  the  show  windows.!  The  rule  of 
building  a  blind  partition  between  show  window 
and  interior  is  broken  in  only  two  cases,  these  two 
being  stores  of  very  narrow  frontage  with  little 
daylight  exposure.  Here  the  lower  halves  of  the 
partitions  are  made  of  plate  glass  mirrors,  and  the 
upper  halves  of  transparent  window  glass. 

The  shallowness  of  show  windows  implies  a  like 

*  Where  the  height  varies  at  different  parts  of  the  building,  for 
purposes  of  tabulation  only  the  maximum  height  is  indicated, 
t  For  number  of  stores  having  transoms  above  doors,  see  p.  1 1. 

4 


STORE    CONSTRUCTION 

shallowness  in  vestibule  or  entry  space.  In  fact, 
there  are  few  vestibules  in  Baltimore  shops  worthy 
of  the  name.  A  three-foot  wide  entry-way  with 
a  single  set  of  swinging  doors  opening  directly  into 
the  store  is  the  commonest  form  of  entrance. 
Two  stores  have  double  sets  of  swinging  doors  at 
the  entrance,  but  the  greatest  vestibule  depth  in 
either  of  these  stores  is  five  feet.  Two  stores 
have  revolving  doors. 

VESTIBULE  AND  HEATING  PLAN.  As  an  archi- 
tectural feature,  the  vestibule  may  be  of  value; 
but  as  contributing  to  the  comfort  of  employes,  and 
as  part  of  the  heating  plan,  it  is  a  matter  of  cardinal 
importance.  Dampness,  fogs,  and  draughts  of 
cold  air  rush  in  through  the  constantly  opening 
and  closing  front  doors.  The  many  show  tables 
and  small  counters  about  the  entrance  require 
the  presence  there  of  more  employes  than  in  any 
other  section  of  equal  floor  space  in  the  store,  and 
these  employes  while  dressed  for  indoors  are 
exposed  to  the  changes  of  outdoor  weather.  The 
percentage  of  illness  among  them  is  consequently 
high.  Yet  where  vestibules  are  extremely  shallow, 
there  seems  to  be  no  remedy  less  drastic  than  to 
rebuild  them. 

It  should  be  pointed  out  parenthetically  that 
the  general  narrowness  of  entrances  is  not  only  a 
present  inconvenience  but  a  probable  danger  in 
case  of  fire.  The  number  of  exits,  too,  is  markedly 
small.  Sometimes  one  or  two  single  doors  serve  for 
a  large  store,  thus  making  it  impossible  for  custo- 

5 


SALESWOMEN 

mers  and  employes  to  leave  the  building  rapidly. 
Revolving  doors  lessen  the  quantity  of  cold  air 
admitted,  but  they  require  an  attendant  to  see 
that  they  run  evenly,  and  in  case  of  a  panic  would 
seriously  retard  the  egress  of  a  crowd.  For  safety, 
swinging  doors  are  probably  preferable. 

The  most  satisfactory  way  of  dealing  with  the 
question  of  cold  air,  and  at  the  same  time  with 
that  of  heating  the  first  floor,  is  to  make  the  vesti- 
bule serve  as  the  main  feature  of  the  heating  plan. 
For  this  to  be  effective,  a  minimum  depth  of  12 
feet  is  required.  Vestibules  15  to  20  feet  in  depth 
are  found  in  the  large  stores  of  some  other  cities. 
This  by  no  means  implies  an  equal  show-window 
depth.  On  the  contrary,  the  vestibule  space  may 
be  arranged  to  jut  into  the  store  interior  nearly 
to  the  outer  edge  of  the  counter  placed  at  the  show- 
window  partition.  Vestibules  under  this  system 
are  built  with  a  set  of  swinging  doors  at 
either  end,  and  contain  registers  or  radiators 
running  the  length  of  the  two  sides.  Where 
radiators  are  used,  the  cold  air  coming  in  through 
the  outer  set  of  swinging  doors  is  warmed  before  it 
reaches  the  inner  set,  and  is  drawn  into  the  large 
first  floor  area,  thus  heating  the  air  near  the  vesti- 
bule and,  by  circulation,  the  whole  of  the  first 
floor.  When  a  large  amount  of  heated  air  is 
forced  into  the  entrance,  and  at  the  same  time 
sheltered  by  the  outer  set  of  doors  from  contact 
with  the  cold  outside,  it  is  frequently  possible  to 
warm  the  first  floor  from  this  source  exclusively, 

6 


STORE    CONSTRUCTION 

and,  as  some  of  the  first  floor  heat  is  bound  to  rise, 
to  reduce  the  pressure  in  radiators  for  the  upper 
floors. 

Once  within  the  store,  we  are  confronted  by 
questions  of  counter  and  shelf  arrangement,  floor- 
ing, lighting,  and  the  system  of  ventilation.  The 
plan  of  counter  and  shelf  arrangement  is  especially 
important  on  the  first  floor  because  of  the  great 
number  of  employes,  and  the  number  of  small 
departments  and  small  articles  for  quick  sale. 

SPACE  BEHIND  COUNTER.  The  first  floor  is 
usually  a  rectangle  bisected  by  one  main  aisle, 
and  intersected  lengthwise  and  crosswise  by  other 
aisles  which  lie  between  series  of  parallel  counters. 
Frequently  counters  between  parallel  aisles  are 
used  for  two  different  departments,  the  stock  case 
in  the  middle  being  partitioned  so  as  to  serve 
both  departments  without  confusion.  It  is  built  so 
that  between  it  and  the  inner  edge  of  each  counter 
is  a  space  sufficient  to  allow  saleswomen  to  pass 
back  and  forth.  As  the  stock  of  a  department 
increases,  the  management  must  contrive  to  store 
it  conveniently  without  encroaching  upon  the 
space  of  other  departments.  If  the  articles 
are  small  and  intended  for  quick  sale, — belts  and 
collars,  for  instance, — the  counter  with  its  seats 
for  customers  may  be  removed,  and  a  glass  show 
case  be  placed  in  its  stead  with  shelves  for  addi- 
tional display.  This  cannot  be  done,  however, 
when  the  articles  are  such  that  customers  need 


SALESWOMEN 

time  for  choice.  A  low  counter  and  aisle  seats 
are  then  essential. 

Sometimes  the  difficulty  is  met  by  the  substitu- 
tion of  a  three-  or  four-panel  stock  case  (the  latter 
doubling  the  width  of  the  shelves),  for  the  case 
of  two  panels,  although  this  lessens  the  space 
available  for  saleswomen  between  counter  and 
case  of  stock.  In  certain  departments,  as  for 
instance  in  the  white  goods  or  dress  goods  depart- 
ments, the  rolls  of  cloth  instead  of  being  placed  in 
the  shelves  lengthwise,  are  sometimes  laid  cross- 
wise and  thus  project  at  an  angle.  This  plan, 
as  well  as  the  introduction  of  the  wider  stock 
case,  seriously  interferes  with  the  comfort  and 
convenience  of  the  saleswomen.  It  is  difficult 
for  them  to  pass  each  other,  and  in  this  narrowed 
space  the  strain  of  lifting  heavy  boxes  or  rolls  of 
goods  is  increased.  A  width  of  two  feet  is  neces- 
sary, and  when  this  is  decreased  by  too  much 
stock  on  the  shelves  or  by  too  large  a  stock  case 
between  adjacent  counters,  the  comfort,  and  in 
consequence  the  efficiency,  of  the  saleswoman  is 
correspondingly  diminished. 

Ten  stores  have  a  minimum  counter  space  of 
two  feet  throughout.  The  others  seem  as  a  rule 
to  have  been  guided  by  the  need  for  room  rather 
than  by  consideration  for  efficiency,  14  stores 
having  a  minimum  counter  space  of  from  one  foot, 
four  inches  to  one  foot,  six  inches,  and  10  having 
a  minimum  space  of  one  foot. 

AISLE  COUNTERS.     Aisle  counters — show  tables 


STORE    CONSTRUCTION 

or  squares — constitute  one  way  of  expanding  a 
department.  Aisle  counters  are  rarely  used  as 
independent  departments.  They  serve  rather 
to  display  special  bargains,  to  attract  the  eye  of 
people  who  might  otherwise  pass  too  casually 
through  the  shop,  or  to  emphasize  a  sale.  Oc- 
casionally, show  tables  are  used  simply  for  addi- 
tional display  and  all  the  selling  is  done  at  the 
main  counter,  but  far  more  frequently  these  tables 
have  their  attendant  saleswomen.  When  the 
aisle  counter  forms  a  square,  and  contains  a  cash 
register,  the  saleswoman  stands  securely  enclosed 
against  the  passing  throng  of  customers.  Her 
stock  is  close  at  hand  and  manageable.  Yet  the 
square  with  its  manifest  convenience  implies  wide 
aisles  and  spacious  building  and  in  consequence 
has  gained  comparatively  slow  headway.  In  the 
29  stores  that  make  use  of  aisle  counters  there  are 
but  65  saleswomen  at  work  in  enclosed  squares,  as 
against  440  saleswomen  at  show  tables  where  the 
stock  is  kept  in  order  with  difficulty  and  where 
the  saleswoman  herself  is  hurried  and  jostled  by 
contact  with  the  crowd.* 

FLOORING.  The  kind  of  flooring  which  may 
best  be  used  in  stores  is  still  a  moot  point.  Per- 
haps one  might  better  say  has  begun  to  be  a  moot 
point,  for  consideration  of  the  subject  is  recent, 

*  Three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  saleswomen  worked  at  show 
tables  on  the  first  floor,  79  on  the  second  floor,  and  23  on  the  third 
floor.  The  65  who  occupied  enclosed  squares  were  all  on  the  first 
floor.  Five  stores  use  show  tables  without  assigning  special  sales- 
women to  them. 


SALESWOMEN 

and  experiments  in  substitutes  for  wood  are  in 
their  infancy.  Wood  has  so  far  proven  the  best 
material  for  comfort  and  durability,  but  it  collects 
dust  and  is  kept  clean  with  difficulty,  and  neither 
oiling  nor  waxing  has  been  found  satisfactory. 
Stone  flooring,  though  readily  cleaned  and  dur- 
able, is  hard  to  stand  upon.  The  various  com- 
positions on  the  market  lay  claim  to  durability, 
cleanliness,  and  elasticity,  but  whether  they  have 
been  sufficiently  tested  for  the  justness  of  these 
claims  to  be  established  is  doubtful.  Should 
composition  flooring  prove  practicable,  it  would, 
were  the  composition  continued  in  a  curve  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  wall  surface,  offer  the  great 
advantage  of  doing  away  with  the  dust  angle  at 
the  meeting  of  floor  and  wall. 

VENTILATION.  The  ventilation  of  department 
stores,  especially  of  the  basements  and  first  floors, 
is  admittedly  difficult.  We  are  dealing  here 
neither  with  small  interiors  readily  freshened  by 
the  opening  of  a  window,  nor  with  groups  of  people 
so  small  that  they  may  be  held  responsible  for 
maintaining  the  air  at  a  quality  pleasant  to  them- 
selves. We  have,  on  the  contrary,  cross-currents 
of  air  through  stairways  and  elevator  shafts, 
sometimes  through  transom  openings,  and  people 
who  shun  the  rigor  of  direct  cold  air  and  insist 
upon  closing  the  windows  to  which  they  have 
access.  In  employes  and  customers,  we  have  a 
body  of  people  equal  in  total  number  to  that  in  a 
crowded  lecture  hall.  In  other  words,  we  are 

10 


STORE    CONSTRUCTION 

dealing  with  a  large  and  fully  occupied  interior 
which  cannot  safely  depend  for  its  ventilation 
upon  the  chance  impulse  of  a  few  people  who  in 
all  probability  dislike  a  draught. 

Moreover,  direct  ventilation  through  windows 
or  transoms  is  subject  to  interference  from  con- 
flicting winds;  and  even  were  this  not  so,  the  per- 
centage of  space  which  can  be  spared  above  the 
show  windows  is  usually  too  small  to  admit 
sufficient  air  to  freshen  that  within.  Transoms 
above  show  windows  were  found  in  12  stores.* 
These  transoms,  in  four  cases  one  foot  in  height, 
and  in  seven  cases  two  feet  in  height,  are  as  a 
matter  of  fact  almost  invariably  kept  closed  except 
on  warm  days.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  tran- 
soms built  above  the  entrance  doors,  which  were 
found  in  27  out  of  the  34  stores. f 

Natural  ventilation  for  a  large  and  crowded 
interior  is  inadequate  in  either  summer  or 
winter.  For  sufficiently  diluting  the  impure  air 
and  for  withdrawing  a  portion  of  that  used,  some 
system  of  artificial  or  forced  ventilation  is  requi- 
site. J  The  question  is  how  to  supply  the  necessary 

*  See  page  4. 

f  Of  these  27  stores,  14  had  a  transom  above  only  one  door,  and 
only  2  stores  had  more  than  4  transoms.  Seven  stores  had  no  tran- 
soms above  the  doors.  In  9  of  the  27  stores  the  transoms  were  only 
i  foot  in  height,  in  13  they  were  2  feet,  and  in  5  stores  they  were  3 
feet  high. 

t  Snow,  William  S.,  S.  B.,  and  Nolan,  Thomas,  A.  M.,  M.  S. :  Venti- 
lation of  Buildings.  New  York,  Van  Nostrand  Co.  According  to 
this  book,  the  amount  of  carbon  dioxide  in  the  air  of  a  well  ventilated 
room,  should  not  exceed  six  or  seven  parts  in  10,000.  By  calculating 
the  rate  at  which  carbon  dioxide  is  exhaled,  we  may  make  an  ap- 
proximate estimate  as  to  the  per  capita  allowance  of  fresh  air  per 

I  I 


SALESWOMEN 

quantity  of  air  continuously  and  at  even  tempera- 
ture to  an  interior  which,  unlike  a  theater  or 
lecture  hall,  is  not  shut  off  by  foyers  and  closed 
doors  from  disturbing  currents  without.*  This 
is  less  a  ventilating  problem  per  se  than  one  of 
construction. 

For  first  floors  and  basements,  at  least,  the 
plenum  or  blower  system  is  the  only  one  which 
seems  to  supply  a  sufficient  quantity  of  fresh  air 
irrespective  of  outside  temperature.  If  this  sys- 
tem is  to  be  effective,  however,  first  floors  and 
basements  must  be  constructed  with  as  great  free- 
dom from  interior  air  currents  as  is  compatible 
with  the  business  of  the  store,  and  each  floor 
treated  as  nearly  as  possible  like  a  separate  com- 
partment. With  a  double  set  of  doors  in  the  vesti- 
bule and  a  heating  system  such  as  has  been  sug- 
gested, there  would  be  some  interference  with 
forced  ventilation,  but  not  nearly  so  much  as 
under  the  present  plan  of  single  swinging  doors 
and  no  vestibule. 

Within  the  store,  difficulty  lies  in  the  construc- 
tion of  elevators,  shafts,  and  stairways.  The  older 
Baltimore  stores  customarily  have  their  eleva- 
tors enclosed  in  cage-like  wire  shafts.  Already 

hour  necessary  to  keep  the  proportion  of  carbon  dioxide  below  7 
in  10,000.  For  rooms  continuously  occupied,  with  daylight  exposure, 
2000  cubic  feet  per  hour  per  person  is  generally  considered  sufficient; 
where  artificial  light  is  used,  the  air  supply  needs  to  be  considerably 
larger. 

*  As  department  stores  are  generally  built  today,  the  unenclosed 
stairways  and  elevator  shafts,  the  opening  doors  through  which 
streams  of  people  pass  out  and  in,  would  render  ineffective  any  system 
of  forced  ventilation  that  might  be  installed. 

12 


A  BALCONY  DIMINISHES  AIR  SPACE 


WARES  SUPPLANT  AIR  AND  DAYLIGHT 


STORE    CONSTRUCTION 

in  some  cities  this  is  contrary  to  the  requirements 
of  the  fire  insurance  underwriters.*  Elevator 
shafts,  both  for  greater  safety  in  case  of  fire,  and 
to  secure  effective  ventilation  in  the  store,  should 
have  the  walls  built  of  some  solid  fireproof  ma- 
terial, such  as  terra  cotta  or  brick,  with  face  and 
doors  of  wire-glass.  In  some  of  the  newer  store 
buildings  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  we  find 
the  beginnings  of  enclosed  stairways.  The  new 
Wanamaker  store  in  New  York  has  stairways 
that  are,  in  effect,  solid  stone  fire-escapes,  with 
wire-glass  doors  opening  on  the  several  floors. 
Such  a  plan  seems  not  impracticable  for  smaller 
stores.  Stairways  are  used  but  little  as  compared 
with  the  elevators,  and  were  they  provided  with 
wire-glass  doors  at  each  landing,  the  opportunity 
afforded  for  the  display  of  merchandise  and  the 
suggestion  of  new  purchases  would  be  almost  as 
great  as  is  now  the  case  when  stairways  are  un- 
enclosed. 

Where  the  blower  system  is  in  use,  the  necessary 
size  of  the  fresh  air  inlet,  capacity  of  the  blower, 
and  velocity  f  of  the  entering  air,  can  be  deter- 
mined only  from  the  cubic  area  of  the  floor  and 
the  average  number  of  occupants.  It  is  perhaps 
superfluous  to  say  that  low  ceilings  interfere  with 

*  The  present  building  law  requires  fireproof  shafts.  The  law, 
however,  was  not  made  retroactive. 

t  The  velocity  of  the  air  may  be  increased  without  causing  a  dis- 
agreeable draft  if  the  inlet  is  some  distance  from  the  floor.  The 
outlet  is  placed  nearly  uad,er  the  inlet  and  close  to  the  floor,  the 
capacity  of  the  exhaust  fan  being  always  slightly  less  than  that  of  the 
blower. 

13 


SALESWOMEN 

ings  being  filled  with  stock  so  that  the  cellar-way  as 
a  source  of  air  supply  is  practically  valueless.  Eight 
basements  are  entirely  underground.  Although 
through  elevator  shafts  and  stairways,  and  in  one 
case  by  electric  fans,  there  is  some  slight  interior 
circulation  of  air,  there  is  no  adequate  means  of 
purifying  the  air.* 

LIGHTING.  The  lighting  of  mercantile  houses 
depends  in  part  on  average  height  of  ceilings  and 
in  part  on  arrangement  of  show  windows.  A  store 
may  have  windows  on  four  sides,  especially  on 
upper  floors,  and  yet  because  of  low  ceilings 
so  much  of  the  light  may  be  intercepted  that 
the  interior  is  dark.  Again,  high  ceilings  and 
light-colored  walls  may  reflect  light  which  comes 
from  but  a  few  windows  on  one  side,  so  that  the 
interior  has  a  bright  appearance.  It  must  be 
recognized,  however,  that  as  neighboring  buildings 
increase  in  height  and  as  the  ground  area  of  the 
store  itself  increases,  even  high  ceilings  and  light 
walls  cannot  serve  to  distribute  an  adequate 

*  The  operation  of  the  ventilating  system  in  one  mercantile  house 
is  an  instance  of  ineffective  economy.  Because  of  the  open  stair- 
ways, blowers  and  exhaust  fans  cannot  work  perfectly,  but  aside  from 
this,  the  basement  is  so  small  that  it  might  be  well  ventilated  were 
the  system  applied  as  installed.  The  management,  however,  al- 
though it  incurred  the  original  expense  of  installing  the  ventilating 
system,  has  paused  at  the  further  expense  of  keeping  the  apparatus 
in  operation.  The  blowers  are  used  intermittently.  No  air  test  is 
made  to  determine  how  frequently  they  should  be  used,  and  no 
floorman  is  allowed  to  start  the  motors  without  the  permission  of 
the  manager.  As  a  device  for  showing  roughly  the  velocity  of  air 
through  basement  inlets,  some  stores  in  other  cities  have  placed 
directly  in  front  of  the  inlets  small  flags  which  flutter  out  in  the 
current  of  fresh  air  and  in  so  doing  create  confidence  in  the  quality 
of  air  supplied. 

16 


A  WELL  LIGHTED  STORE  BUILDING 


MINGLING  OF  GAS  AND  ELECTRIC  LIGHT 


STORE    CONSTRUCTION 

amount  of  daylight.  Some  form  of  artificial 
illumination  must  be  adopted.  Were  it  possible 
for  the  store  management  to  plan  largely  enough 
in  the  first  instance  so  that  the  lighting  scheme 
should  be  an  integral  part  of  the  building  plan,  the 
lighting  of  the  first  floor  might  be  arranged  to 
avoid  the  mingling  of  natural  and  artificial  lights 
now  almost  universal.  This  mingling  of  lights 
tends  to  interfere  with  intelligent  choice  of  ma- 
terial and  is  found  to  have  an  injurious  effect 
upon  the  eyesight. 

Nineteen  of  the  34  Baltimore  stores  are  so  small 
that  the  daylight  admitted  through  rear  and 
side  windows  or  through  transoms,  skylights,  or 
ground  glass  squares,  gives  sufficient  illumination 
for  the  first  floor,  but  nearly  half  are  obliged  to  use 
in  addition  either  arc  or  electric  lights.*  More- 
over, where  artificial  light  is  used,  not  only  the 
brilliancy  of  the  illumination  but  its  diffusion  is 
of  importance;  for  concentrated  brilliancy  of  a 
light-source,  although  effective  for  the  purpose  of 
displaying  stock,  like  mixed  lights  strains  and 
ultimately  injures  the  eyes.  Arc  lights  in  smooth 
ground  glass  globes,  electric  lights  enclosed  in 
clear  glass,  give  a  brilliant  but  not  a  diffused 
illumination.  It  would  seem  that,  measured  by 
efficiency,  they  have  already  been  superseded  by 
prismatic  globes  and  reflectors  which  utilize  a 
major  portion  of  the  rays  and  at  the  same  time  by 

*  Seven  stores  use  arc  lights  in  the  daytime  and  eight  stores  use 
electric  lights  in  clear  glass  bulbs. 


SALESWOMEN 

diffusing  the  light  diminish  its  intensity.  Yet 
these  have  not  been  adopted  in  the  Baltimore 
stores. 

The  upper  floors  of  Baltimore  mercantile  houses 
usually  have  sufficient  daylight  exposure  to  make 
artificial  illumination  unnecessary.  In  five  cases, 
however,  arc  lights  are  used  in  the  daytime.  To 
the  upper  floors  of  these  five  stores  and  to  all 
basement  salesrooms  what  has  been  said  with 
reference  to  the  artificial  lighting  of  first  floors 
is  equally  applicable. 


18 


CHAPTER  1 1 
SEATS  FOR  SALESWOMEN 

WELL  planned  store  construction  is  fun- 
damental to  comfort  as  to  health,  and 
within  the  large  lines  laid  down  for  floor 
arrangement,    lighting,  heating,  and  ventilating, 
cbme  minor  conveniences  almost  if  not  quite  as 
important.     Seats   behind   counters,  the  number 
and   location   of   toilet   rooms,   the  provision  of 
cloak  rooms,  the  location  and  equipment  of  lunch 
rooms, — all  these  figure  in  determining  the  desira- 
bility of  a  place  of  employment. 

Seats  for  use  in  spare  moments  are  essential 
to  the  health  of  workingwomen.  The  physical 
strain  caused  by  long  hours  in  a  standing  position 
admits  of  no  question,  and  the  cost  of  such  physi- 
cal strain  to  the  individual  has  become  a  matter 
of  social  concern.  Although  in  some  factories 
it  may  be  necessary  for  operatives  to  stand,  the 
occupation  of  selling  goods  is  clearly  one  in  which 
standing  is  not  continuously  necessary.  In  mer- 
cantile houses  there  are  hours  daily  when  sales- 
women may  be  seated  without  neglect  of  duty, 
and  in  recognition  of  this,  the  laws  of  37  states 
make  specific  requirement  that  seats  for  sales- 

IQ 


SALESWOMEN 

women  shall  be  provided.*  Opportunity  for  such 
rest  as  is  possible  under  the  conditions  of  the  work 
is  made  imperative  in  Maryland  by  legislation. 

Since  1896  the  state  law  has  required  seats  to 
be  provided  for  saleswomen.  The  law  reads  :f 

All  proprietors  or  owners  of  any  retail,  jobbing  or 
wholesale  dry  goods  store,  notions,  millinery  or  any 
other  business  where  any  female  help  are  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  serving  the  public  in  the  capacity  of 
clerks  or  salesladies,  shall  provide  a  chair  or  stool  for 
each  one  of  such  female  help  or  clerks,  in  order  that 
during  such  period  as  they  are  not  actively  engaged  in 
making  sales  or  taking  stock  they  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity for  rest.  Any  such  owner  or  proprietor  who 
shall  neglect  to  obey  the  provisions  of  this  section, 
shall  be  considered  to  have  committed  a  misdemeanor, 
and  shall,  upon  conviction  thereof,  be  fined  in  an 
amount  not  less  than  ten  dollars,  and  not  exceeding 
one  hundred  dollars  for  the  first  offense;  and  in  the 
event  said  owner  or  proprietor  shall  continue  to  disobey 
the  provisions  of  this  section,  he  shall  be  subjected  to 
a  fine  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  a  day,  daily,  for  every 
chair  he  fails  to  so  furnish  his  said  employes. 

In  1897,  the  chief  of  the  State  Bureau  of 
Statistics  took  up  the  question  of  enforcement 
and  ordered  an  inspection  of  the  stores.  The 
findings  showed  that  seats  were  provided  at  the 
ratio  of  one  to  each  saleswoman  as  required  by 
law,  but  that  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  discover 
whether  or  not  employes  were  allowed  to  use 

*See  Swett,  Maud:  Summary  of  Labor  Laws  in  Force,  1909: 
Woman's  Work.  Published  1910,  by  the  American  Association  for 
Labor  Legislation,  Metropolitan  Tower,  New  York. 

f  Acts  of  1896,  Chapter  147.  This  law  is  published  by  the  State 
Board  of  Health  in  its  handbook,  "Laws  of  Maryland  relating  to 
Public  Health,"  issued  in  1899. 

20 


SEATS    FOR    SALESWOMEN 

them.  The  chief  was  advised  by  the  city  solicitor 
that  the  law  was  unenforceable.  The  question  was 
then  dropped  and  no  later  inspections  were  made. 
In  1904,  the  law  was  amended.*  As  it  stands, 
it  is  among  the  most  specific  and  inclusive  laws 
on  the  subject  enacted  in  America.  It  reads  as 
follows : 

All  proprietors  or  owners  of  any  retail,  jobbing, 
or  wholesale  dry  goods  store,  notion,  millinery  or 
any  other  business  where  any  female  sales  people 
or  other  female  help  are  employed  for  the  purpose  of 
serving  the  public,  shall  provide  a  chair  or  stool  for 
each  one  of  such  female  help,]  in  order  that  when 
they  are  not  actively  engaged  in  making  sales  or 
taking  stock  or  in  performing  such  other  duties  as  they 
may  have  been  engaged  to  perform,  they  shall  have  an 
opportunity  to  rest,  and  they  shall  not  be  forbidden  to 
avail  themselves  of  such  opportunity.  Any  such  owner 
or  proprietor  who  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  obey  the 
provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  considered  to  have 
committed  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  upon  conviction 
thereof,  be  fined  in  an  amount  not  less  than  ten  dollars 
nor  more  than  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  first  offense; 
and  in  the  event  that  such  proprietor  or  owner  shall 
continue  to  disobey  the  provisions  of  this  section,  he 
shall  be  subject  to  a  fine  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  a  day, 
daily,  for  every  chair  or  stool  he  fails  to  so  furnish  his 
said  employes.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  or 
department  of  health  or  health  commissioner  or 
commissioners  of  the  cities  and  towns  in  the  state  to 
cause  this  section  to  be  enforced,  and  whenever  any 
of  its  provisions  are  violated,  to  cause  all  violators 
thereof  to  be  prosecuted,  and  for  that  purpose  the 
health  commissioner  or  commissioners  and  the  officer 
or  officers  of  the  board  of  health  of  every  city  and 

*Code  of  Public  General  Laws,  1904.     Article  27,  section  239. 
f  The  italics  are  the  writer's. 

21 


SALESWOMEN 

town  in  the  state,  or  the  inspectors  thereof,  or  any 
other  person  designated  by  such  board  of  health  com- 
missioner or  commissioners  are  authorized  and  em- 
powered to  visit  and  inspect  at  all  reasonable  hours  and 
as  often  as  shall  be  practicable  and  necessary  all  mer- 
cantile establishments  in  the  city  or  town  in  which  the 
office  of  the  said  board  or  department  of  health  or 
health  commissioner  or  commissioners  is  situated,  and 
it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  to  interfere  with 
or  obstruct  any  such  inspecting  official  while  in  per- 
formance of  his  or  her  duties  or  to  refuse  to  properly 
and  truthfully  answer  questions  made  pertinent  by  this 
section  when  asked  by  such  inspecting  official. 

This  law,  which  has  been  on  the  statute  books 
for  five  years,  is  not  included  among  the  labor 
laws  of  Maryland,  as  issued  by  the  Bureau  of 
Statistics  and  Information  of  Maryland,  nor  is 
it  included  among  publications  by  the  State 
Board  of  Health  of  laws  relating  to  public  health 
passed  since  the  issuance  of  their  handbook  of 
1899.  It  appears  to  be  known  to  but  few  of  the 
establishments  which  it  chiefly  concerns,  and 
seems  to  have  been  from  the  beginning  a  dead 
letter. 

To  determine  the  extent  to  which  the  need  for 
seats  for  saleswomen  is  recognized,  an  enumera- 
tion in  the  34  Baltimore  stores  under  considera- 
tion was  made  in  January,  1909.  Bearing  in 
mind  the  fact  that  the  law  of  the  state  requires 
one  seat  for  each  saleswoman,  a  summary  of  the 
number  of  seats  and  the  number  of  saleswomen 
in  the  several  stores  may  be  of  interest. 


22 


SEATS — BUT  NOT  FOR  SALESWOMEN 


ONE  SEAT  TO  A  COUNTER 


SEATS    FOR    SALESWOMEN 

A  seat,  as  understood  in  this  chapter,*  is  any 
chair  or  swinging  seat,  or  any  stool,  twelve  inches 
or  more  in  height  and  six  inches  or  more  in  di- 
ameter. Seats  as  enumerated  in  the  table  con- 
form to  this  definition.  In  only  three  or  four  cases 
has  it  been  found  necessary  to  rule  out  stools 
because  of  inadequate  size.  In  five  cases  where 
seats  are  few,  boxes  are  allowed,  although  in  one 
store  all  boxes  are  taken  away  when  Saturday 
night  comes  so  that  there  may  be  every  incentive 
to  a  busy  evening.  The  total  number  of  sales- 
women in  each  store  and  the  total  number  of  seats 
set  aside  for  their  use  are  given  in  Table  i  (page 
24).  Each  store  is  designated  by  numeral. 

Such  wide  range  in  the  ratio  of  seats  to  sales- 
women is  worthy  of  remark.  Store  Number  4  is 
complying  with  the  law;  stores  Number  32  and 
33  while  not  observing  the  letter  of  the  law,  yet 
are  conspicuous  for  the  degree  of  their  compliance. 
The  other  31  stores  seem  either  unaware  of  the 
state  law  or  frankly  non-compliant. 

*  For  the  purposes  of  this  enumeration  it  was  found  necessary  to 
define  a  seat.  Chairs,  stools,  swinging  seats,  boxes,  two-steps  to 
reach  the  upper  shelves,  all  go  by  the  generic  name  of  "seats,"  but 
as  a  means  of  physical  rest  they  are  not  equally  useful.  To  be  sure, 
a  saleswoman  may  in  an  unwatched  moment  seat  herself  on  a  drawer 
pulled  out  from  a  stock  case,  but  under  such  circumstances  she  can 
scarcely  rest  well.  Neither  may  the  edge  of  a  stock-case  shelf  nor  the 
four-inch  step  of  the  department  ladder  be  considered  a  proper  seat. 
Boxes  also,  varying  as  they  do  in  height  and  material,  often  encrusted 
with  dirt  and  impeding  free  movement,  are  doubtful  expedients.  It 
has  seemed  best  for  these  reasons  to  rule  out  boxes,  two-steps  and  the 
stock-case  shelf  from  the  definition  of  seats.  It  has  also  seemed  best 
to  rule  out  stools  less  than  12  inches  high  and  less  than  six  inches  in 
diameter,  for  the  reason  that  stools  of  smaller  dimensions  would  serve 
rather  to  produce  discomfort  than  otherwise. 

23 


SALESWOMEN 


TABLE  1.— NUMBER  OF  SEATS  AND  NUMBER  OF  SALES- 
WOMEN IN  34  BALTIMORE  STORES,  AND  RATIO 
OF  SEATS  TO  SALESWOMEN 


Store 
number 


9 
10 
n 

12 

13 
14 


'9 

20 
21 
22 
23 
24 


II 

29 

30 
31 
32 

33 
34 

Total 


Number 

of  Seats 

n 


10 

35 
o 

7 
4 
4 
o 

7 
'76 


10 

2l 

3 

7 
4 
o 

22 
O 

7 

12 

8 

5 
10 

37 

7 


389 


Number  of  Saleswomen 

and  Heads  of  Stock* 

162 

86 

114 

9 
171 

7 

20 
II 

137 
10 

90 

'47 

20 
10 

325 
70 

1  88 
56 


121 

15 

'52 
16 

142 
39 
42 

II 
3.8 
32 
'5 
15 
40 

2704 


Ratio 
to  15 
to  21 
to  4 
to  i 
to  5 

o 

to  3 
to  3 
to  34 

o 
to  13 


to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to  4 
to  2; 
to  30 

o 
to    7 

o 

tO  20 

to  3 

to  5 

to  5 

to  6' 

to  8^ 

to  4' 

tO     2 
tO     2 

to    8 


Since  the  state  law  is  not  widely  known  and 
apparently  has  never  been  enforced,  it  would  not 

*  Other  occupational  groups  omitted. 
24 


SEATS    FOR    SALESWOMEN 

be  surprising,  were  this  law  the  only  enactment 
on  the  subject,  if  different  stores  showed  con- 
siderable differences  of  policy;  but  there  is  also 
a  law  upon  the  subject,  affecting  Baltimore  only, 
which  is  well  known.  The  diversity  of  ratios  in 
the  provision  of  seats  is  still  more  striking  when 
looked  at  with  reference  to  this  law.  There  can 
be  no  reason  for  ignorance  in  regard  to  its  pro- 
visions, since  it  is  published  among  the  labor  laws 
of  Maryland,  as  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Statis- 
tics and  Information.  The  text  of  the  law,  which 
follows,  is  vague  and  unsatisfactory  in  wording, 
a  defect  which  characterizes  the  law  in  many  of 
the  states  which  have  legislation  on  the  subject.* 
The  lawj  is  as  follows: 

Every  employer  of  females  in  any  mercantile  or  manu- 
facturing establishment  in  the  City  of  Baltimore  must 
provide  and  maintain  suitable  seats  for  the  use  of  such 
employes.  A  person  is  deemed  not  to  maintain  suit- 
able seats  for  use  of  female  employes  unless  he  permits 
the  use  thereof  by  such  employes  to  such  extent  as  may 
be  reasonable  for  the  preservation  of  health  and  proper 
rest;  and  the  question  of  what  is  thus  reasonable  is 
one  for  determination  by  the  jury  or  the  court  acting 
as  a  jury  in  any  prosecution  hereunder.  Any  viola- 
tion of  the  preceding  section  by  any  employer  shall  be 
deemed  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  be  punishable  by  a 
fine  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  to  be  collected  as 
other  fines  are  collected. 

Some  stores  have  worked  out  individual  stan- 
dards, but  the  officials  charged  with  enforcement 

*  See  footnote,  page  20. 

f  Charter  of  Baltimore  city,  sections  505  and  506. 

25 


SALESWOMEN 

of  the  law  seem  to  have  established  no  general 
standard  which  they  might  apply  to  all  stores 
under  their  supervision.  No  seats  at  all,  one 
seat  to  5 1  saleswomen,  or  one  seat  to  two  cannot 
be  equally  "suitable"  and  equally  within  the  law. 
Nor  would  the  omission  of  seats  in  a  basement 
salesroom  and  the  permission  in  the  upper  floors 
to  use  aisle  seats  designed  for  customers  seem  to 
show  that  the  establishment  was  complying  with 
even  the  loosest  letter  of  the  law.  Moreover, 
the  stores  that  set  a  standard  for  themselves,  a 
standard  which  they  regard  as  merely  reasonable, 
might  with  justice  complain  that  their  neighbors 
are  allowed  great  laxity  in  the  matter.  It  is  some 
expense  to  the  management  to  provide  seats; 
it  requires  some  oversight  to  see  that  they  are 
suitably  arranged.  The  store  that  incurs  this  ex- 
pense and  takes  this  oversight  may  justly  claim 
that  its  own  observance  of  the  law  is  gratuitous, 
since  its  neighbor  pays  no  penalty  for  habitual 
violation. 

Clearly,  the  state  officials  have  not  arrived  at  a 
definition  of  what  "suitable"  means.  It  may  be 
of  interest  if  we  apply  to  Table  i  the  standard 
suggested  by  the  laws  of  South  Carolina  and 
New  York.  These  states  require  one  seat  to 
every  three  saleswomen,  which  allows  saleswomen 
who  work  near  together  to  take  turns  resting, 
and  seems  to  be  the  smallest  number  that  would 
ensure  to  each  saleswoman  occasional  rest.  Four 
Baltimore  stores  have  a  higher  proportion  of 

26 


SEATS    FOR    SALESWOMEN 

seats  than  one  to  three  saleswomen.  Five  stores 
have  exactly  this  proportion.  Four  have  a  pro- 
portion of  one  to  four,  or  four  and  a  fraction; 
three,  one  to  five.  Eighteen  have  a  proportion 
lower  than  one  to  six.  In  other  words,  according 
to  the  standard  of  two  states  of  what  is  "suitable/' 
25  out  of  the  34  Baltimore  retail  stores  examined 
do  not  maintain  suitable  seats  for  the  saleswomen 
whom  they  employ;  and,  as  has  been  shown,  33 
out  of  the  34  fail  to  comply  with  the  standards 
set  by  the  law  of  their  own  state. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  even  where 
the  ratio  of  one  seat  to  three  saleswomen  is 
rigidly  carried  out,  the  separation  of  saleswomen 
into  groups  by  counter  divisions  may  still  leave 
some  without  access  to  seats.  The  individual 
saleswoman  at  an  aisle  counter  may  be  entirely 
without  a  seat  and  yet  be  counted  as  part  of  a 
group  of  three  at  a  main  counter  nearby.  At  a 
twenty-foot  counter  where  only  two  women  work, 
the  absence  of  seats  may  be  explained  by  the  pro- 
vision of  a  seat  for  a  group  around  the  counter. 
This  provision  can  scarcely  by  any  test  of  health 
or  of  utility  be  held  "reasonable."  No  less  im- 
portant than  the  number  of  seats  is  their  arrange- 
ment by  counters.  There  must  be  at  least  one 
seat  to  a  counter,  whether  that  counter  is  served 
by  one  woman  or  by  three  women,  and  if  there  are 
more  than  three  the  number  of  seats  must  be  in- 
creased proportionately. 

It  speaks  well  for  the  standards  of  some  of  the 
27 


SALESWOMEN 

Baltimore  merchants  that  nine  retail  stores  have 
seats  regularly  arranged.  This  means  that  the 
aisle  counter  as  well  as  the  main  counter  is  sup- 
plied with  a  seat,  and  that  there  is  one  seat  to 
each  counter  division.  As  a  rule,  the  stores  are 
not  deep  enough  to  have  extremely  long  counters. 
Three  saleswomen  to  a  counter  might  be  con- 
sidered a  general  average,  and  the  arrangement  of 
one  seat  to  a  counter  would  therefore,  according 
to  the  standard  of  two  states,  be  suitable.  Seven 
hundred  and  forty  saleswomen  and  heads  of  stock 
are  employed  in  the  nine  stores  which  follow  this 
policy. 

The  stores  in  which  seats  are  irregularly  arranged 
are  more  numerous.  They  employ  double  the 
number  of  women, — 1964  saleswomen  and  heads  of 
stock.  The  typical  cases  given  in  Table  2,  showing 
by  floors  the  proportion  between  number  of  seats 
and  number  of  saleswomen  in  four  stores,  illustrate 
irregular  arrangement. 

It  happens  frequently  that  whereas  seats  may 
be  provided  with  some  attempt  at  regularity  on 
the  first  floor,  the  basement  may  be  entirely 
without  them,  and  saleswomen  forced  to  find 
what  rest  they  can  leaning  against  tables  and 
stoves.  More  often,  however,  the  first  floor 
employes  are  the  ones  to  suffer.  The  crowding  of 
counters  makes  it  difficult  to  find  room  for  seats. 
Saleswomen  pass  back  and  forth  hastily  to  take 
quick  sales;  chairs  or  stools  are  troublesome,  and 
for  the  time  being  apparently  superfluous.  Were 

28 


A  BASEMENT  SALESROOM 


PORTION  OF  A  FIRST  FLOOR  SALESROOM 


SEATS    FOR    SALESWOMEN 

all  the  stores  built  with  as  wide  spacing  between 
counter  and  case  of  stock  as  are  some  of  the  best, 
lack  of  room  could  not  be  urged  as  a  reason  for 
failure  to  provide  seats.  Not  infrequently,  how- 
ever, it  is  this  lack  of  room  which  acts  as  a  hin- 
drance. Then,  too,  a  saleswoman  standing  "at 
attention"  is  sometimes  thought  to  attract  cus- 
tomers more  readily  than  one  seated,  and  as  the 
first  floor  is  preeminently  one  of  quick  sales  and 
often  of  chance  buying,  first  floor  saleswomen  are 
usually  expected  to  stand. 

TABLE  2.— NUMBER  OF  SEATS  AND  NUMBER  OF  SALES- 
WOMEN IN    FOUR  BALTIMORE  STORES.—BY 
FLOORS 

Store  Number  Number  of 

Number                          Floor  of  Seats  Saleswomen 

i Basement  4  22 

ist  2  85 

2nd  5  30  (no  boxes 

3rd  ..  15    allowed) 

4th  . .  10 

ii Basement  (not  used  for  salesrooms) 

ist  7  75 

2nd  ..  15 

18 Basement  (not  used  for  salesrooms) 

ist  7  42 

2nd  i  13 

29 Basement  2  22 

ist  15  206 

2nd  i i  60 

3rd  4  25 

4th  i 

5th  2  10 

Moreover,  the  policy  differs  in  different  stores, 
and  between  permissive  use  of  seats  and  a  rigid 
rule  that  all  saleswomen  must  stand,  there  are 
various  tacit  regulations.  In  some  places,  an 
unphrased  instinct  seems  to  warn  saleswomen 

29 


SALESWOMEN 

always  to  be  standing  when  their  department 
heads  pass  by.  In  other  cases,  rules  are  explicit. 
The  sight  of  a  frail  little  white-faced  girl  lean- 
ing against  the  counter  occasioned  from  a  cus- 
tomer the  remonstrance,  "Why  don't  you  sit 
down?"  "If  we  sat  down,  we'd  get  the  grand 
bounce,"  was  the  reply, — a  threat  sufficient  to  keep 
any  tired  child  " at  attention."  This  rule,  couched 
more  or  less  explicitly,  obtains  in  eight  stores, 
where  altogether  690  girls  are  employed.  Some- 
times relaxed  for  upper  floor  saleswomen,  it  is 
nevertheless  to  a  degree  effective  throughout 
these  establishments  and  on  the  first  floor  holds 
full  sway.  Elsewhere,  however,  the  provision 
of  seats  seems  to  include  permission  to  use  them, 
for  in  a  majority  of  the  stores  where  they  are 
supplied,  saleswomen  may  be  seen  fearlessly  seated 
without  danger  of  reprimand,  the  best  indication 
that  the  provision  in  the  law  concerning  use  is 
observed. 


CHAPTER  I  I  I 

ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  COMFORT  OF 
EMPLOYES 

THE  employment  of  several  hundred  people 
in  a  single  plant  is  both  a  responsibility 
and  an  opportunity  for  the  management. 
A  building  that  houses  so  many  people  for  eight 
or  nine  hours  daily  is  obliged  to  extend  its  func- 
tions, so  that  it  may  serve  both  the  immediate 
needs  of  the  business  and  the  physical  well-being 
of  the  employes.  Provisions  for  comfort,  which 
require  little  thought  in  a  small  establishment, 
become  matters  of  careful  planning  as  the  number 
of  employes  grows.  While  half  a  dozen  sales- 
women might  use  part  of  a  stock  room  for  a 
place  in  which  to  hang  their  wraps  and  eat  their 
lunches,  50  saleswomen  would  be  much  inconven- 
ienced in  the  same  surroundings,  and  250  sales- 
women would  create  an  entirely  new  set  of  d*emands. 
An  employer  assumes  a  certain  amount  of 
responsibility  during  working  hours  for  the  health 
of  the  people  whose  time  he  controls.  He  must 
meet  such  needs  as  are  fundamental.  He  must 
build  with  due  regard  for  sanitary  requirements, 
for  adequate  toilet  facilities.  If  he  is  an  employer 

31 


SALESWOMEN 

of  women  as  well  as  of  men,  he  must  provide 
separate  employes'  rooms  and  make  some  dif- 
ferences in  equipment.  The  factory  girl  or  the 
saleswoman,  if  she  is  to  give  continuous  and 
efficient  service,  must  at  times  have  access  to  a 
couch  or  rest  room  where  she  may  recuperate. 
An  hour's  quiet  will  often  enable  her  to  resume 
work.  If  she  is  unable  to  secure  this  rest,  the 
day  is  lost  to  her  with  consequent  loss  of  wages, 
and  her  employer  is  inconvenienced  because  he 
cannot,  on  short  notice,  find  anyone  to  take  her 
place.  A  couch  in  a  quiet  room,  if  the  store  is 
small,  or  a  rest  room,  if  the  store  is  large,  are 
insurance  measures  against  needless  illness  and 
needless  loss  of  time.  The  necessity  for  such 
provision,  like  the  necessity  for  adequate  toilet 
facilities,  is  fundamental  in  a  mercantile  estab- 
lishment. 

The  concept  of  what  is  a  fundamental  require- 
ment for  health,  however,  has  been  extended  to 
include  not  only  the  obvious  but  the  less  easily 
measured  things.  An  hour's  rest  may  mean  relief 
from  illness.  But  what  if  the  illness  and  the  need 
for  rest  could  alike  be  avoided?  The  emphasis 
of  preventive,  rather  than  of  curative  measures, 
maybe  applied  to  industrial  as  to  personal  hygiene. 
The  saleswoman's  illness  may  be  caused  by  her 
continual  standing.  Adequate  provision  and 
regular  arrangement  of  seats,  as  discussed  in  the 
last  chapter,  would  prevent  a  large  part  of  such 
illness.  On  the  other  hand,  her  illness  may  be 

32 


COMFORT   OF    EMPLOYES 

caused  by  the  eating  of  unsuitable  food  in  a  noisy, 
overcrowded  restaurant.  Her  afternoon  may  thus 
be  lost  or  she  may  do  her  work  ineffectively.  In 
such  a  case,  are  the  preventive  measures  of  whole- 
some food  at  cost  in  a  quiet,  comfortable  room  on 
the  premises  impossible?  The  gain  to  the  em- 
ployer in  the  increased  alertness  of  sales  people 
would  be  immediate  and  concrete;  the  gain  in 
health  to  the  latter  no  less  real. 

Were  wages  in  mercantile  establishments  those 
of  skilled  rather  than  of  unskilled  labor,  lunch 
rooms  in  a  neighborhood  where  good  restaurants 
abound  might  be  considered  unnecessary.  It  is 
perhaps  inevitable,  however,  that  some  employes 
will  always  be  unskilled.  For  what  they  can 
afford  to  spend  on  lunches,  they  can  obtain  little 
nourishing  food,  partly  because  the  imagination 
of  restaurant  dietitians  is  limited,  and  partly 
because  food  sold  at  a  low  price  where  running 
expenses  are  high,  and  profits  are  essential,  tends 
always  to  be  in  reality  "cheap."  In  consequence, 
since  they  cannot  get  nourishing  food,  they  get 
stimulating  food.  The  managers  of  lunch  places, 
we  hope,  may  at  length  be  influenced  by  public 
demand  for  more  wholesome  food,  but  meanwhile 
their  menus  are  beyond  question  unsuited  to  the 
needs  of  workingwomen  whose  wages  are  small. 
If,  then,  the  lunch  period  is  too  short  and  the 
distance  too  great  for  employes  to  go  home  at 
noon — and  this  is  the  case  almost  universally  in 
large  cities — the  need  for  a  lunch  room  becomes 
3  33 


SALESWOMEN 

urgent.  If  we  extend  the  idea  of  the  employer's 
responsibility  for  the  health  of  employes  during 
working  hours  to  the  midday  pause,  it  would 
seem  that  a  lunch  room,  and  in  some  cases  per- 
haps a  lunch  service,  as  part  of  a  mercantile 
establishment,  might  be  included  in  the  concept  of 
what  is  fundamental. 

Should  we  add  to  the  consideration  of  physical 
health  the  question  of  mental  well-being,  and 
indeed  the  two  cannot  be  dissociated,  we  should 
find  procedure  less  direct  and  possible  results  less 
tangible.  Here  lies  the  opportunity — we  cannot 
yet  say  the  responsibility — of  the  managers  of 
stores.  We  may  admit,  however,  that  employ- 
ment should  not  lower  the  personal  standards 
of  employes.  While  opinions  may  differ  widely 
as  to  how  standards  should  be  maintained,  all 
will  agree  that  at  least  one  essential  thing  is 
opportunity  for  personal  cleanliness  and  for  the 
cleanliness  of  wraps  and  hats  worn  to  and  from  the 
store.  As  already  suggested,  makeshift  substi- 
tutes for  a  cloak  room  become  inadequate  as  the 
number  of  employes  grows. 

Where  recreation  and  club  rooms  are  part  of 
the  equipment  of  the  store,  and  what  is  called 
"welfare  work"  is  one  of  its  activities,  the  oppor- 
tunity and  the  difficulty  of  dealing  with  the  mental 
and  emotional  well-being  of  employes  are  manifest; 
but,  experimental  as  these  departures  are,  they 
are  unquestionably  full  of  worth  to  those  who 
genuinely  participate. 

34 


REST  AND  TOILET  ROOM  COMBINED 


HOSPITAL  FACILITIES 


COMFORT    OF    EMPLOYES 

TOILET  FACILITIES.  From  the  point  of  view 
of  the  necessity  of  some  equipment  for  the  comfort 
of  employes,  and  of  the  desirability  of  additional 
equipment  in  the  interest  of  health  and  possibly 
of  mental  well-being,  the  provisions  for  employes 
in  Baltimore  stores  will  be  briefly  described.  No 
attempt  has  been  made  fully  to  inspect  the  toilet 
rooms  for  women  employes,  it  having  been  assumed 
that  in  a  mercantile  house  unsanitary  conditions 
would  not  long  escape  the  notice  of  officials  and 
customers,  and  that  conditions  disadvantageous  to 
its  business  would  be  promptly  remedied.  The 
Bureau  of  Health  likewise  has  the  power  to  see 
that  toilet  facilities  are  adequate  for  the  number 
that  they  serve.  These  sanitary  requirements  are 
so  elementary,  so  far  from  being  distinctive  of  this 
or  of  any  industry,  that  it  was  felt  that  this  study 
should  concern  itself  rather  with  aspects  of  the 
situation  more  characteristic  of  mercantile  estab- 
lishments. 

However,  not  only  the  condition  and  adequacy 
of  toilet  facilities,  but  their  location,  is  of  impor- 
tance. Where  one  toilet  room  serves  for  several 
floors,  the  chances  are  increased  that  it  will  be 
crowded  and  inadequate.  Indeed,  it  might  be 
urged  not  unjustly,  according  to  the  standards 
laid  down  by  the  Massachusetts  School  Com- 
missioners *  that  there  should  be  a  toilet  for  each 
floor  on  which  25  persons  are  employed,  and 

*  Boston  Schoolhouse  Department.  Annual  Report,  February  i, 
1909,  to  February  i,  1910,  pp.  76  and  77. 

35 


SALESWOMEN 

if  this  number  is  exceeded  an  additional  toilet 
should  be  provided.  This  is  an  average  stand- 
ard.* Since  few  stores  employ  less  than  25 
persons  on  a  floor,  this  standard  would  be  gen- 
erally applicable.  On  the  whole,  however,  the 
number  of  employes  and  the  number  of  floors 
used  for  salesrooms  or  for  office  work,  have  out- 
grown the  provisions  originally  made,  and  the 
necessity  of  making  further  provisions  has  been 
neglected.  One  store  has  a  toilet  room  on  each 
floor  for  its  total  of  561  women  employes.  Six 
stores,  each  having  four  or  more  floors  for  sales- 
rooms and  an  average  of  283  women  employes, 
have  but  three  toilet  rooms  each  for  women. 
Four  stores,  with  an  average  of  149  women  em- 
ployes, have  two  toilet  rooms  each  for  women, 
and  the  remaining  stores  have  one  apiece.  In 
many  cases,  this  one  room  must  be  used  by  both 
customers  and  employes,  although  it  is  scarcely 
sufficient  even  for  the  people  on  one  floor.  One 
of  the  largest  stores  has  a  single  toilet  room  on  the 
third  floor  of  the  annex;  this  must  serve  for  all 
the  customers  and  for  282  women  employes  on 
the  six  floors  of  the  annex  and  the  four  floors  of 
the  main  building;  it  ventilates  into  a  salesroom. 
A  five-story  building  nearby  has  one  toilet  room 
in  the  third  story  for  its  223  women  employes, 

*  C.  B.  J.  Snyder,  Superintendent  of  School  Buildings  for  New 
York  City,  writes  under  date  of  February  27,  1911:  "Our  standard 
for  toilet  fixtures  is  as  follows:  Girls — 30  to  each  water  closet.  Boys 
— 30  to  each  urinal,  60  to  each  water  closet.  One  wash  basin  in 
each  toilet." 

36 


COMFORT   OF    EMPLOYES 

and  except  in  this  room,  no  washing  facilities 
are  available. 

The  inconvenience  of  these  arrangements  is 
heightened  by  the  custom  obtaining  in  a  few  stores 
of  setting  a  limit  of  five  or  ten  or  twelve  minutes 
to  the  time  that  an  employe  may  be  absent  from 
the  floor.  The  five-minute  rule,  enforced  in  a 
six-story  building,  is  in  practice  prohibitory.  A 
ten-  or  twelve-minute  rule,  where  rooms  are 
crowded,  is  likely  to  be  prohibitory.  In  some 
cases,  an  actual  prohibition  is  in  force  at  certain 
hours  of  the  day;  one  store,  for  instance,  which 
closes  at  six,  forbids  any  employe  to  leave  the  floor 
after  4:30  in  the  afternoon. 

Ten  stores,  among  which  are  some  of  the  large 
ones,  have  no  regulations  as  to  the  time  when 
employes  may  have  access  to  toilet  rooms;  they 
exercise  such  supervision  as  may  be  necessary  to 
see  that  this  freedom  is  not  abused,  but  they  make 
no  rules.  The  other  24  stores,  employing  3243 
women,  have  a  system  of  more  or  less  rigid  sur- 
veillance. Six  require  any  employe  who  goes  off 
the  floor  to  leave  word  with  the  head  of  the  depart- 
ment who  may  be  a  woman  or  may  be  a  man. 
Four  require  employes  to  leave  word  with  the 
floor-walker,  and  14  require  employes  to  obtain 
a  pass  from  the  floor-walker.  Needless  to  say, 
many  of  the  girls  prefer  to  stay  at  their  posts 
indefinitely  rather  than  ask  the  floor-walker  of 
their  aisle  for  a  pass.  His  injunction  to  "hurry 
back"  or  to  "be  quick"  adds  not  a  little  to  the 

37 


SALESWOMEN 

unpleasantness  of  a  rule  which  wears  heavily 
upon  even  the  less  sensitive  girls.  When  this 
rule  is  linked  with  a  time  limit  and  with  incon- 
venient location  of  toilet  rooms,  conditions  are  pre- 
judicial to  health  no  less  than  if  sanitation  were 
actually  defective. 

REST  ROOMS.  Where  women  are  employed,  rest 
rooms  of  some  sort,  no  less  than  adequate  toilet 
rooms,  are,  as  has  been  said,  essential  for  health. 
An  elaborate  hospital  room,  except  in  the  larger 
stores,  is  seldom  necessary.  Quiet,  however,  is  es- 
sential. If  the  purpose  of  the  room  is  to  serve  for 
rest  and  recuperation,  this  purpose  is  defeated  if 
the  clatter  of  dishes  or  the  thud  of  packing  cases 
sounds  distinctly  through  the  thin  wooden  boards  of 
a  semi-partition.  It  is  defeated  when  the  couch  is 
placed  in  a  public  part  of  the  store,  instead  of  in 
a  room  either  for  the  private  use  of  employes 
or  for  cases  of  illness  only.  Privacy  and  quiet 
are  more  essential  than  medicines  and  attend- 
ants. 

Twenty-five  of  the  Baltimore  stores,  employing 
2025  women, — nearly  one-half  of  the  total  num- 
ber,— have  neither  rest  rooms  nor  couch  which 
employes  may  use  when  ill.  This  means  that  these 
25  stores  lose  time  and  their  employes  lose  wages 
unnecessarily  through  illness.  Both  time  and 
wages  might  be  saved  were  the  rooms  already  set 
apart  for  employes  turned  to  further  use. 

A  small  store  on  Gay  Street,  for  instance,  which 
employs  only  18  women,  has  its  lunch  room  par- 

38 


A  WELL  PLANNED  LUNCH  ROOM 


A  BAD  LUNCH  ROOM 


COMFORT   OF    EMPLOYES 

titioned  off  on  the  second  floor.  The  boards  are 
thick  and  the  partition  reaches  to  the  ceiling. 
A  couch  in  the  lunch  room  is  sufficient  for  the 
needs  of  the  employes.  The  cost  of  buying  it  was 
small  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  is  zero.  In  two 
other  stores,  a  couch  has  been  placed  in  the  lunch 
room.  In  three  stores  a  separate  room  near  the 
lunch  room,  with  a  couch  and  chairs,  has  been  set 
aside  for  employes. 

Three  stores,  employing  1467  women,  have 
hospital  rooms.  The  equipment  consists  of  two 
or  three  hospital  beds,  a  chair  or  two  painted  white, 
and  a  white  enamelled  washstand.  A  maid  is  in 
attendance.  In  one  case,  the  maid  has  duties 
on  another  floor  and  comes  only  upon  call;  in 
another  case,  the  maid  is  in  charge  jointly  of  the 
hospital  room  and  of  the  customers'  lavatories; 
in  the  third  case,  the  hospital  room  is  next  to 
the  kitchen  and  is  in  charge  of  the  lunch-room 
manager.  The  two  rooms  first  mentioned  are  not 
separate  rooms,  but  semi-partitioned,  one  from 
a  waiting  room  and  the  other  from  a  salesroom. 
Although  a  semi-partition  is  not  usually  satis- 
factory, neither  of  these  rooms  is  noisy. 

Some  of  the  stores  which  have  these  excellent 
provisions  for  cases  of  illness  are  no  larger  than 
others  which  make  no  provision  at  all.  Whether 
a  store  is  large  or  small,  the  need  for  such  provision 
exists  and  is  changed  not  in  kind,  but  only  in 
degree,  by  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of 
employes. 

39 


SALESWOMEN 

LUNCH  ROOMS.  Lunch  rooms,  although  pos- 
sibly essential  in  a  different  way  from  rest  rooms, 
have  proven  more  popular  in  Baltimore  stores.* 
This,  notwithstanding  the  relatively  short  distances 
from  shopping  to  residence  districts.  All  but  four 
of  the  stores  have  lunch  rooms.  That  is,  all 
but  four  have  a  room  with  some  chairs  in  it  set 
apart  for  women  employes  to  use  at  lunch  time. 
The  location  of  the  room,  the  kind  of  equip- 
ment, and  the  facilities  for  cooking  food,  vary 
greatly. 

If  a  lunch  room  is  for  the  health  of  those  who 
use  it,  the  reason  for  some  of  these  rooms  is  not 
apparent.  They  offer  no  quiet  place  in  which 
food  may  be  eaten  comfortably  at  noon,  but 
seem  rather  to  give  valueless  space  for  the  accom- 
modation of  employes  who  cannot  well  go  home. 
One  room,  for  instance,  in  a  store  where  56  women 
are  employed,  is  in  the  basement,  entirely  enclosed 
except  for  two  twelve-inch  windows  opening  into 
a  stock  room.  A  single  gas  jet,  without  globe 
or  tip,  burns  continually.  The  room  contains  a 
little  gas  stove,  and  if  the  rubber  tubing  is  attached 
to  the  gas  burner,  the  room  remains  in  darkness; 
one  cannot  have  light  and  cook  at  the  same  time. 
The  oilcloth  of  the  long  table  is  brown  and  worn. 
There  are  no  chairs  and  no  dishes,  but  there  is  a 

*  In  4  stores,  employing  1810  women,  lunch  service  is  furnished 
by  the  store;  in  4  others,  employing  793  women,  lunch  service  is  by 
colored  servants,  independent  of  the  store.  Seventeen  stores,  em- 
ploying 1 524  women,  furnish  lunch  rooms  and  gas  stoves;  and  5 
provide  lunch  rooms  but  no  facilities  for  cooking. 

40 


COMFORT   OF    EMPLOYES 

bench  on  either  side  of  the  table,  one  with  sup- 
ports of  its  own  and  the  other  merely  a  board 
laid  across  the  broken  seats  of  two  chairs.  So  far 
as  known  the  floor  has  never  been  cleaned.  Mice 
and  rats  are  reported  to  be  the  chief  occupants  of  the 
room,  for  nine-tenths  of  the  girls  prefer  when  they 
can  to  spend  carfare  to  go  home,  rather  than  eat 
in  the  store. 

Another  store,  where  14  girls  are  employed,  is' 
about  to  equip  a  lunch  room,  although  the  manager 
states  that  all  the  girls  now  go  home  at  noon. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  seven  of  them  find  it  impossible 
to  go  home  and  equally  impossible  to  buy  food 
in  the  neighborhood.  Their  custom  is  to  eat  in 
the  cellar,  where  a  small  table  and  a  few  chairs 
have  been  placed  for  their  convenience  in  the 
proximity  of  the  furnace.  The  cellar  is  not  totally 
dark,  although  the  gas  jet  flickers  uncomfortably. 

These  lunch  rooms  are  by  no  means  the  only 
instances  of  their  kind.  They  imply  not  the 
assumption,  but  the  shifting  of  responsibility. 
A  further  step  toward  a  lunch  room  which  serves 
its  essential  purpose  is  found  in  several  stores  where 
the  room  is  equipped  with  cooking  utensils  and 
dishes  as  well  as  with  tables  and  chairs.  The 
girls  can  cook  their  own  food  if  they  wish  to  do  so. 
Sometimes,  when  a  woman  is  employed  to  clean 
the  room,  she  cooks  for  the  girls  whatever  they 
leave  with  her,  and  if  she  is  enterprising  she  may 
even  start  a  lunch  counter  on  a  small  scale. 
Her  menu,  however,  is  usually  limited,  consisting 


SALESWOMEN 

mainly  of  coffee  and  tea,  soup  and  pie.  Although 
the  store  in  these  cases  does  not  exercise  any  over- 
sight over  the  quality  of  food,  it  does  make  possible 
a  degree  of  comfort  by  providing  chairs  and  tables 
covered  with  clean  white  oilcloth,  and  by  setting 
aside  a  room  with  daylight  exposure. 

Two  stores  furnish  tea  and  coffee  at  their  own  ex- 
pense. Four  other  stores,*  employing  1810  women, 
provide  a  varied  lunch  for  their  employes  at 
cost.  The  menus  include  soups  and  hot  dishes, 
salads,  fruits  and  desserts,  as  well  as  tea  and  coffee, 
the  prices  being  low  enough  so  that  a  good  lunch 
may  be  obtained  for  eight  or  ten  cents.  The 
lunch  rooms  are  light,  well  aired,  well  kept,  and 
attractively  furnished.  The  prices  charged  are 
within  the  reach  of  all  employes,  and  the  food  is 
of  good  quality. 

CLOAK  ROOMS.  Twenty-seven  of  the  Balti- 
more stores,  that  is,  all  except  seven,  provide  cloak 
rooms.  According  as  the  store  is  a  large  or  a 
small  one,  lockers  or  shelves  for  wraps  are  placed 
in  a  room  by  themselves  or  are  given  part  of  the 
wall  space  in  the  lunch  room.  More  stores  furnish 
only  hooks  or  wooden  partitions  than  provide  wire 
lockers,  but  these  latter  have  made  some  head- 
way and  are  in  general  use  in  the  largest  houses. 

*  The  time  assigned  for  lunch  is  usually  from  1 1  a.  m.  until  3  p.  m. 
One  store,  recognizing  that  the  late  hour  often  means  much  unneces- 
sary weariness,  allows  fifteen  minutes  between  11  and  12  to  each 
employe  whose  luncheon  hour  comes  later  than  i :  30  p.  m. ;  this  makes 
it  possible  for  such  employes  to  take  some  light  nourishment  at  the 
end  of  the  morning  and  so  to  wait  without  fatigue  until  their  assigned 
hour. 

42 


I.OCKER    AND    RECREATION    ROOM    COMMNED 


A  SCREENED  REST  ROOM 


COMFORT   OF    EMPLOYES 

Seven  stores,  all  of  them  fairly  large,  still  have 
wooden  lockers  which  suggest  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  cleaning. 

In  the  greater  number  of  cases  where  lockers 
have  been  provided  the  management  expects 
one  to  serve  for  two  and  sometimes  for  more  than 
two  persons.  This  is  to  be  regretted,  for  although 
usually  of  the  most  modern  kind,  the  lockers  are 
too  small  to  hold  comfortably  the  wraps  of  more 
than  one  person.  The  care  taken  of  these  lockers 
and  cloak  rooms  by  the  store  may  be  regarded 
as  in  a  measure  indicating  its  standard.  In  six 
cases  the  lockers  or  partitions  are  dusted  and 
washed  out  each  night,  in  eight  cases  they  are 
cleaned  weekly,  and  in  1 1  cases  they  are  cleaned 
"when  necessary."  Two  cloak  rooms,  it  is  as- 
serted, are  never  cleaned. 

Beyond  this  point — beyond  provision  necessary 
for  the  health  and  the  self-respect  of  employes— 
the  Baltimore  stores  in  general  have  not  attempted 
to  go.  Three  stores  have  recreation  rooms  fur- 
nished with  tables  and  rockers,  a  few  newspapers 
and  magazines.  One  store  has  a  branch  station 
of  the  public  library.  These  represent  beginnings, 
however,  rather  than  systematized  welfare  work, 
and  should  be  estimated  not  so  much  as  actual 
achievements, — concretely  valuable  as  they  are,— 
but  as  the  tentative  expression  of  a  democratic 
ideal. 


43 


CHAPTER    IV 
ORGANIZATION  OF  WORKING  FORCE 

THE  comparative  smallness  of  Baltimore 
stores  precludes  an  organization  as  elabo- 
rate as  that  developed  in  the  stores  of 
Philadelphia,  Chicago,  or  New  York.  Stores 
in  those  cities  have  reached  a  stage  of  growth 
at  which  the  duties  of  officials  and  employes  have 
become  for  the  time  being  fixed.  Responsibilities 
are  more  sharply  defined  than  in  the  stores  of  a 
city  of  the  size  and  industrial  conservatism  of 
Baltimore.  Here,  on  the  other  hand,  while  the 
organization  is  not  consciously  planned  for  flexi- 
bility, it  is  actually  flexible.  Between  store  and 
store,  even  between  similar  positions  in  the  same 
store,  the  real  duties  of  officials  may  differ  widely. 
Any  definition  of  occupations,  therefore,  and  their 
relation  to  each  other  must  be  limited  by  recogni- 
tion of  constant  exceptions.  This  variation  may 
be  measured  in  part  by  the  degree  of  expansion  a 
store  possesses,  the  increase  in  the  number  of  its 
departments,  the  multiplication  of  its  interests; 
but  in  part  also  it  depends  upon  the  interaction 
of  personalities. 

Baltimore,  in  its  store  ownership,  presents  no 
44 


ORGANIZATION    OF    WORKING    FORCE 

striking  examples  of  "absentee  capitalism."  For 
the  most  part,  the  members  of  the  firm  share  in 
the  management  of  the  business,  either  as  gene- 
ral managers  or  specifically  in  charge  of  certain 
store  activities.  In  some  cases  they  act  as  buyers 
either  in  an  advisory  capacity  or  with  full  responsi- 
bility. They  continue  and  initiate  policies;  they 
supervise  details,  going  so  far  in  some  cases  as  to 
engage  employes.  In  other  cases  they  may  leave 
all  these  details  to  the  superintendent  and  his 
subordinates. 

SUPERINTENDENTS  AND  BUYERS 

The  superintendent  is  the  responsible  head  of 
the  store.  Theoretically  he  has  full  and  equal 
supervision  over  the  sales  and  clerical  force, 
and  over  the  workrooms;  actually  he  delegates 
some  or  all  of  this  detailed  supervision  to  assistants. 
The  assistant  superintendent,  the  floor  managers, 
the  buyers,  while  directly  responsible  to  the  super- 
intendent, have  authority  to  decide  upon  many 
minor  and  some  major  points  of  detail.  Under 
the  assistant  superintendent  are  the  head  cashier 
and  her  force  of  assistant  cashiers,  the  auditing 
department  and  its  chief,  and  the  office  force. 
Under  floor  managers  are  cash  and  errand  girls, 
bundle  boys,  and  such  other  employes  as  may  be 
about  the  floor.  Some  floor  managers  are  buyers 
as  well;  some  supervise  other  parts  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  store.  The  typical  floor  manager,  how- 
ever, is  neither  buyer  nor  store  official,  but  a 

45 


SALESWOMEN 

functionary  charged  merely  with  overseeing  a 
given  aisle  or  aisles,  directing  customers,  signing 
exchanges,  straightening  out  difficulties,  and  curb- 
ing the  spirits  of  his  small  irresponsible  subordin- 
ates when  their  duties  weigh  too  lightly  upon  them. 
The  buyer  seems  generally  to  have  direct  man- 
agement of  the  department  for  which  he  buys, 
with  authority  over  its  sales  force.  His  chief 
duties  are  to  buy  goods  and  plan  sales,  but  fre- 
quently he  effects  economies  in  running  expenses 
by  laying  of?  employes  during  a  dull  season,  by 
reducing  the  number  of  employes,  or  by  adjust- 
ing wages.  He  assigns  their  lunch  hour  to  the 
different  sales  people,  and  has  authority  occa- 
sionally to  allow  them  extension  of  time  at  request, 
to  order  night  work  during  stock  taking,  to  arrange 
night  work  at  Christmas  so  that  sales  people  shall 
have  alternate  evenings  on  duty  (provided  the 
department  is  above  the  first  floor),  and  during 
overtime  seasons  other  than  Christmas  to  pay 
for  the  overtime.  Responsibility  for  the  success 
of  his  department  is  placed  upon  him,  and  his 
ability  is  proved  and  the  department  justified  by 
a  good  net  profit.  To  this  end,  expenses  must  not 
exceed  a  certain  fixed  percentage  of  total  sales. 
Within  these  limits  and  within  limits  fixed  by 
definite  policies  of  the  store,  he  is  free  to  decide 
upon  his  own  policies  with  regard  to  his  immediate 
subordinates.  He  knows  more  fully  than  do  any 
of  his  superiors  what  strain  the  department  can 
stand,  and  what  concessions  to  the  force  would 

46 


ORGANIZATION    OF    WORKING    FORCE 

secure  more  efficient  service.  His  decisions  are 
not,  in  theory  at  least,  a  court  of  last  appeal, 
but  practically  a  complaint  is  seldom  carried  to 
higher  authority,  and  were  this  done,  the  higher 
authority  would  rarely  reverse  a  buyer's  decision. 

The  assistant  buyer  or  head  of  stock  is  second 
to  the  buyer.  She  is,  as  a  rule,  the  senior  sales- 
woman in  her  department.  Her  duty  is  to  keep 
track  of  the  stock, — not  mathematically,  but 
with  insight  and  a  descriptive  sense.  She  must 
know  in  general  how  much  remains  of  different 
kinds  of  stock,  at  what  time  new  stock  is  needed, 
what  articles  have  failed  to  sell,  and  what  articles 
have  unexpectedly  met  with  wide  popularity. 
From  her  closer  touch  with  customers,  she  must 
be  able  to  advise  the  buyer  as  to  the  purchase  of 
new  goods.  At  times  she  may  be  expected  to 
buy,  under  direction,  from  city  salesmen.  She  is 
seldom  without  influence,  and  may  have  real 
responsibility  if  her  department  is  important,  or, 
if  not,  she  may  be  the  mere  shadow  of  authority. 

Departments  in  fact  are  not  often  built  according 
to  a  clearly  defined  type,  with  sales  force  responsi- 
ble to  assistant  buyer,  assistant  buyer  responsible 
to  buyer,  each  in  the  same  degree.  Nor  are  the 
mutual  relations  of  these  people  to  the  whole 
establishment  sharply  defined  and  invariable. 
A  buyer  may  have  one  department  or  several. 
His  several  departments  may  be  important  or 
unimportant,  his  rank  varying  accordingly.  One 
buyer,  for  example,  may  have  sole  responsibility 

47 


SALESWOMEN 

for  the  cloak  and  suit  department;  he  may  give 
his  chief  attention  to  buying  in  Paris  or  in  New 
York,  and  his  secondary  attention  to  arranging 
sales.  In  this  case,  the  assistant  buyer  probably 
takes  charge  of  many  details,  and  is  both  head  of 
stock  and  managing  head  of  the  sales  people. 
She  is  not  expected  to  sell  goods  to  an  amount 
proportionate  to  her  salary,  but  is  paid  in  part  for 
her  supervisory  work. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  buyer  may  have  charge  of 
three  relatively  small  departments,  such  as  neck- 
wear, hosiery,  and  notions.  While  some  buying 
may  be  done  out  of  town,  as  an  actual  fact  the 
greater  part  of  it  is  not.  Presumably  the  buyer 
is  on  hand  most  of  the  time,  and  expects  nothing 
of  his  three  assistant  buyers  or  heads  of  stock  but 
information  about  sales  and  occasional  suggestions 
as  to  choice  of  goods.  Yet  if  the  three  depart- 
ments combined  under  one  head  were  more  im- 
portant than  three  separate  ones,  if  the  articles 
were  more  expensive  and  of  slower  sale,  the  posi- 
tion of  assistant  buyer  might  be  more  important 
here  than  that  of  buyer  in  a  smaller  department 
ranked  by  itself.  For  instance,  suppose  a  buyer 
to  have  charge  of  millinery,  dress  goods,  and  ladies' 
waists  in  a  store  where  each  of  these  departments 
was  a  feature  of  the  business.  The  advice  of  the 
assistant  buyer  from  being  casual  would  become 
essential,  and  her  decisions  in  minor  matters  of 
policy  would  tend  to  be  final.  This  would  be 
true  only  where  articles  were  chosen  to  meet  the 

48 


ORGANIZATION    OF    WORKING    FORCE 

ideas  of  discriminating  customers.  Should  arti- 
cles, on  the  contrary,  be  stereotyped,  made  for 
a  narrow  range  of  tastes,  the  position  of  assistant 
buyer  would  immediately  drop  in  importance. 
Where  few  experiments  were  made,  there  would  be 
no  need  of  her  opinion.  She  would  be,  in  reality, 
head  of  stock  and  nothing  more.  In  such  a  case, 
"We  call  them  assistant  buyers/'  said  the  manager 
of  one  store,  "to  jolly  them  along  and  make  them 
feel  good,  but  you  might  just  as  well  put  them 
down  as  sales  people.  Of  course,  I  wouldn't  buy 
an  article  if  they  absolutely  didn't  like  it  and  were 
sure  it  wouldn't  sell,  but  their  advice  doesn't  count 
for  much  as  a  rule,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  time  we 
forget  to  ask  them." 

Where  a  workroom  is  connected  with  a  depart- 
ment, the  buyer  is  head  of  the  workroom  also. 
The  workroom  manager  is  subordinate  to  the 
buyer  and  may  refer  to  him  matters  of  expense, 
such  as  increase  of  wages,  duration  of  lunch  and 
supper  periods,  and  overtime  pay.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  workroom  manager  may  himself  decide 
such  points.  The  alteration  room,  for  instance, 
is  a  part  of  the  cloak  and  suit  department;  as 
such,  it  is  under  the  buyer  of  that  department. 
The  fitters  who,  like  the  sales  people,  are  on  the 
floor,  are  more  directly  under  the  buyer's  super- 
vision than  the  alteration  hands  who  do  not  leave 
the  workroom.  These  latter  are  under  super- 
vision of  the  workroom  manager  who  is  in  con- 
sultation with  the  buyer. 
4  49 


SALESWOMEN 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  millinery  work- 
room. The  buyer  of  the  millinery  department 
is  joint  head  of  the  selling  force  and  of  the  milliners, 
with  the  assistant  buyer  and  the  head  milliner 
as  intermediary  heads.  Of  course,  two  or  more 
of  these  positions  are  frequently  held  by  one 
person.  The  head  milliner  may  be  buyer  for  the 
department,  or  may  serve  as  assistant  buyer  in  a 
store  where  the  millinery  buyer  is  also  buyer  for 
other  departments.  Again,  the  sales  force  may 
be  so  small  that  there  is  no  assistant  buyer,  in 
which  case  the  head  milliner  is  expected  to  know 
the  stock  and  occasionally  to  offer  suggestions. 

The  drapery  workroom  is  connected  with  the 
upholstery  department.  The  number  of  oper- 
atives is  usually  small,  and  the  work  simple,  con- 
sisting, as  a  rule,  in  stitching  lawn  shades,  window 
hangings  and  portieres,  and  making  slip  covers, 
which  can  be  done  under  the  supervision  of  the 
cutter.  The  buyer  or  assistant  buyer  of  the  de- 
partment has  direct  oversight  of  the  workroom. 
Workrooms  of  other  kinds,  such  as  those  for  fur 
repairing  or  dressmaking,  are  organized  on  the 
same  general  plan.  When  there  is  a  lunch  room, 
it  is  a  separate  department,  the  head  of  which  is 
responsible  to  the  superintendent. 

OTHER  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUPS 

In  stores  of  this  general  type,  the  order  of  ad- 
vancement is  from  cash  girl  to  wrapper,  then  to 
stock  girl,  and  finally  to  saleswoman.  The  duties 

50 


THE  SALES  FORCE  ON  DUTY 


CASH  REGISTERS  REDUCE  MESSENGER  SERVICE 


ORGANIZATION    OF    WORKING    FORCE 

of  cash  girls  depend  to  some  extent  upon  the  cash 
system  and  upon  the  interior  arrangements  of  the 
store.  Where  a  tube  or  cable  system  is  in  use, 
and  where  there  are  a  number  of  aisle  counters,* 
small  girls  or  boys  are  employed  to  carry  parcels 
and  change  from  aisle  to  tube  or  cable  terminus. 
This  system,  of  course,  need  not  be  employed 
where  aisle  counters  are  arranged  as  enclosed 
squares.  Aisle  counters  fixed  in  place  become 
stations  for  the  automatic  carrier,  and  cash  girls 
are,  therefore,  no  longer  needed  to  carry  change. 
They  carry  parcels,  however,  from  the  aisle  to  the 
main  counter,  where  wrappers  are  stationed  at 
desks  above  the  stock  cases,  or  to  the  wrapping 
desk  if  that  is  in  another  part  of  the  store.  Some- 
times boys  are  used  altogether  for  parcel  carrying 
and  girls  act  simply  as  floor  messengers. 

How  far  the  service  of  cash  girls  is  necessary, 
is  a  moot  point.  Undoubtedly  the  tendency  is 
to  decrease  their  number  and  to  install  mechanical 
substitutes  for  their  work  both  as  messengers  and 
as  carriers  of  parcels  and  change.  A  complete 
system  of  store  telephones  means  practically 
the  elimination  of  messenger  service.  Enclosed 
squares,  each  with  its  own  cashier,  as  a  substitute 
for  show  tables  mean  practically  the  elimination 
of  carrier  service.  In  fact,  the  enclosed  square 
is  the  crux  of  the  whole  matter.  It  means  a 
limited  autonomy  instead  of  political  depend- 
ence. A  show  table  is  transient,  unstable,  sub- 

*  See  Chapter  I,  Store  Construction,  p.  9. 
51 


SALESWOMEN 

ject  to  frequent  change,  but  the  enclosed  square 
presents  the  dignity  of  permanence  and  plan. 
If  the  tube  or  cable  system  is  in  use,  communi- 
cation can  be  extended  to  the  square.  Otherwise 
the  square  may  be  equipped  with  cash  regis- 
ters, and  the  local  cashiers  may  act  jointly  as 
cashiers  and  wrappers.  This  is  done  successfully 
in  several  Baltimore  stores  at  the  present  time. 
On  the  whole,  it  seems  reasonable  to  conclude 
that  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  cash  children  is 
to  be  expected,  and  that  their  employment  in 
any  large  number  in  a  store  is  an  indication  of  an 
antiquated,  rather  than  of  an  up-to-date,  business 
policy. 

The  first  promotion  is  to  the  position  of  wrapper. 
This  does  not  always  mean  simply  wrapping  par- 
cels. It  may  mean  inspecting  parcels  and  change 
and  sales  slips,  as  a  check  on  clerical  errors.  In 
two  stores  the  wrapper  girls  act  as  cashiers,  and 
in  six  stores  boys  are  employed  for  wrapping. 

Ordinarily  the  next  advancement  is  to  the  posi- 
tion of  stock  girl.  The  stock  girl  is  the  "general 
utility"  hand.  She  brings  upon  order  what  is 
needed  from  the  stock  rooms,  takes  care  of  stock 
on  the  shelves,  and  helps  to  put  away  goods  that 
have  been  left  on  the  counter.  She  is  a  sort  of 
apprentice,  familiarizing  herself  with  the  stock 
and  workings  of  a  department,  at  the  same  time 
being  on  call  for  odds  and  ends  of  service. 
Through  the  aid  of  stock  girls,  the  amount  of 
work  done  by  sales  people  is  increased  50  per  cent. 

52 


ORGANIZATION    OF    WORKING    FORCE 

Without  them,  all  the  odd  jobs,  the  carrying  and 
care  of  stock,  would  devolve  upon  the  sales 
people.  They  complain  of  this  most  frequently 
in  departments  selling  small  articles  like  combs  or 
jewelry,  or  articles  like  china  and  tinware,  which 
require  frequent  dusting.  When  they  are  obliged 
to  dust  several  dozen  shelves  of  chinaware  every 
day,  they  find  it  difficult  to  keep  a  fresh  appearance, 
and  are  forced  to  take  refuge  either  in  dark,  unat- 
tractive shirtwaists  or  to  submit  to  heavy  laundry 
bills.  Clearly,  sales  people  are  at  a  disadvantage 
when  they  must  take  entire  care  of  their  depart- 
ment. Nevertheless,  20  stores,  two-thirds  of  the 
whole  number  in  Baltimore,  have  no  stock  girls 
among  their  employes. 

These  beginning  positions — on  the  delivery 
wagons,  at  cash,  stock,  or  wrapper  work — are 
the  positions  in  which  children  generally  are 
employed.  There  are  1008  such  situations  in 
the  34  Baltimore  stores  visited.  If  we  assume, 
and  the  assumption  is  fully  warranted,  that 
nearly  all  these  positions  are  filled  by  children 
fourteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  these  figures 
indicate  the  proportion  of  minors  in  mercantile 
employments,  although  some  additional  minors 
are  employed  for  selling.  In  three  stores,  few  if 
any  children  under  sixteen  are  employed;  the 
policy  of  at  least  two  of  these  stores  is  definitely 
to  exclude  them.  Assuming  that  this  policy  is 
successfully  carried  out  and  that  the  252  children's 
positions  in  these  three  stores  are  filled  by  em- 

53 


SALESWOMEN 

ployes  over  sixteen,  we  have  left  756  such  positions 
in  the  remaining  31  stores,  filled  in  general  by 
minors  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age. 
In  other  words  our  study  indicates  that  10  per 
cent  of  the  total  employes  in  mercantile  houses 
in  Baltimore  are  under  sixteen. 

From  being  wrapper  or  stock  girl,  the  next  ad- 
vancement is  to  saleswoman  in  full,  first  at  an 
aisle  counter,  perhaps,  and  later  at  a  main  counter. 
Cashiers  in  some  stores  rank  below  saleswomen, 
and  in  other  stores  above  them.  Manifestly, 
where  the  cashier  is  also  wrapper,  responsible  for 
the  cash  sales  of  her  department  only,  her  training 
and  intelligence  need  not  be  so  high  as  if  she  were 
one  of  the  half  dozen  cashiers  who  handle  cash 
coming  through  tubes  from  the  entire  store.  In 
the  former  case  she  is  in  line  for  advancement  to 
the  selling  force;  in  the  latter,  is  a  bit  superior 
to  the  saleswomen.  Where  there  are  floor  cashiers 
at  desks  stationed  at  intervals,  they  are  ranked 
with  cashiers  at  pneumatic  tubes;  but  in  general 
cashiers  scattered  among  different  departments 
rank  below,  while  those  grouped  in  a  single  room 
rank  above,  the  saleswomen. 

Just  as  some  of  the  lower  positions  are  occa- 
sionally dispensed  with,  so  in  a  few  stores  the 
higher  positions  are  eliminated  so  that  there  are 
no  grades  between  proprietors  and  selling  force. 
Some  stores  have  no  workrooms.  Others  have 
no  buyers  or  assistant  buyers  outside  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  firm.  One  or  two  of  the  large  stores 

54 


A  GROUP  OF  SALESWOMEN 


A  CASH  GIRL 


ORGANIZATION    OF    WORKING    FORCE 

have  no  intermediary  between  saleswomen  and 
buyer,  and  of  their  several  buyers  have  but  one 
or  two  with  any  considerable  authority.  In 
general,  this  latter  type  of  organization  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  smaller  stores.  The  senior  mem- 
bers of  the  firm  do  most  of  the  buying  and  all 
the  traveling  for  the  house.  The  junior  members 
act  as  superintendents,  floor  managers,  and  general 
supervisors  of  all  departments.  They  may  allow 
some  senior  saleswoman  to  select  from  goods 
offered  by  city  salesmen,  and  on  the  strength  of 
this  she  may  call  herself  a  buyer,  although  the 
proprietors  themselves  would  not  so  designate  any 
of  their  employes.  They  recognize  only  sales- 
women and  pay  wages  accordingly.  The  sales- 
women act  both  as  wrappers  and  as  stock  girls. 
A  single  cashier  may  serve  mainly  as  bookkeeper 
if  counters  are  equipped  with  cash  registers  so 
that  saleswomen  can  keep  track  of  their  own 
sales.  If  there  are  no  cash  registers,  the  cable 
system  is  generally  supplemented  by  two  or  three 
cash  girls.  In  such  an  establishment,  the  porter 
is  generally  the  whole  delivery  department. 

A  third  type  is  the  store  which  is  one  of  a  chain 
in  different  cities.  Five  Baltimore  stores  are  in 
this  class.  The  main  difference  between  this  type 
and  others  is  that  there  are  no  members  of  the 
firm  to  direct  the  policy  of  the  store.  The  superin- 
tendent or  manager  has,  therefore,  a  greater  degree 
of  responsibility.  In  reality,  of  course,  the  policy 
of  the  store  must  in  a  measure  be  coordinated  with 

55 


SALESWOMEN 

the  policy  of  the  stores  in  other  cities  with  which 
it  is  connected,  a  compromise  being  made  between 
local  requirements  and  conditions  elsewhere. 

Notwithstanding  these  differences  in  type,  how- 
ever, there  is  a  basic  similarity  in  organization 
between  store -and  store.  A  cashier  may  operate 
a  cash  register  in  an  enclosed  square  or  attend  to 
pneumatic  tubes  in  the  basement,  but  she  is  still 
indubitably  a  cashier.  A  buyer  may  travel  much 
or  little,  may  have  charge  of  one  or  of  several 
departments,  but  he  is  still  a  buyer.  A  cash  girl 
may  carry  parcels  and  change,  or  parcels  only, 
or  she  may  serve  merely  as  a  floor  messenger,  but 
she  is  still  a  cash  girl.  Her  relative  position  and 
duties  remain  unchanged. 

With  the  fact  in  mind,  that  in  general  the  occu- 
pations in  a  department  store  may  be  defined  and 
enumerated,  a  census  has  been  made  of  the  number 
of  employes  in  specified  positions  in  the  34  retail 
stores  mentioned.  Official  figures  have  been  ob- 
tained in  each  case.  We  have  avoided  averages, 
obtaining  instead  the  figures  for  typical  seasons 
of  the  year, — the  month  of  December,  when  the 
sales  force  is  at  its  height;  the  weeks  of  April, 
when  the  workroom  force  is  at  its  height;  the 
summer  months,  when  many  employes  are  away; 
the  spring  and  fall  seasons,  when  the  sales  force 
is  normal.*  Unless  otherwise  stated,  the  figures 
in  the  tables  for  employes  in  various  occupations 
are  understood  to  be  normal, 

*  See  footnote,  p.  84. 

56 


ORGANIZATION    OF    WORKING    FORCE 

Table  3  shows  the  numbers  and  percentages  of 
men  and  women  in  different  occupational  groups. 
The  percentages  of  women  in  each  group  are 
graphically  presented  in  Diagram  A,  page  59. 

TABLE  3.— NUMBER  AND  PERCENTAGE  OF  MALES  AND 
FEMALES  EMPLOYED  IN  34  BALTIMORE  STORES 
AND  NUMBER  OF  STORES  EMPLOYING  EACH  SEX.— 
BY  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP. 


Occupational  Group 

v 

i 

> 

0 

S    ~ 

£i 

^5: 
1* 
^ 

4 

i 

|| 
Si 

%y 

>'| 

^ 

No.  of  Females 

Per  Cent  of  Total 
No.  of  Females 

il 

v,    £ 

|l 

2.1 

T& 

^i 

Laundry  workers  

2 

.04 

I 

Forewomen*  

.10 

6 

Heads  of  stock  

I* 

.63 

2}8 

C.2Q 

20 

Waitresses  

22 

•40 

2 

Drapery  operators  

24 

•  53 

6 

Kitchen  hands 

A  \ 

QI 

jO 

Dressmakers 

6 

I  42 

Alteration  hands  
Floorwalkers 

23 

8s 

1.  12 
A   12 

2 
IQ 

431 

9-59 

21 

Unclassified  employment  .  . 
Drivers  

21  I 
I^e 

10.23 
6  54 

15 

16 

Porters  

164 

7  Q5 

3  I 

Buyers  

171 

82Q 

25 

75 

i  67 

17 

Stock  girls  

I  I  I 

2  47 

14 

Cash  boys  and  gi»ls  

173 

8.3Q 

16 

I  i  c 

••*/ 

2.56 

I  i 

Milliners    . 

I  72 

3  82 

2O 

Wrappers  

0.8 

A   7C 

6 

2O7 

3.0,4 
4  oo 

I  C 

Clerks  and  clerical  help  .  .  . 
Cashiers  

^ 

13.04 

25 

240 

284 

5-33 
6  3i 

IO 

27 

Delivery  
Selling  Force  

326 

3Q5 

15.80 

IQ  14 

i? 

17 

2466 

54  78 

~\d. 

Total  

2063 

IOO  OO 

4501 

IOO  OO 

Per  cent  of  total  employes 

314? 

68.57 

*  Chief  saleswomen  in  five-  and  ten-cent  stores,  who  also  are  in  a 
sense  heads  of  stock,  are  called  "forewomen."  The  term  is  not  used 
in  department  stores. 

57 


SALESWOMEN 

It  is  significant  that  relatively  to  the  number  of 
salesmen,  the  male  heads  of  stock  are  so  few.  This 
may  readily  be  understood,  however,  from  the 
fact  that  as  a  rule  few  salesmen  are  employed  in  a 
department,  and  in  consequence  they  are  directly 
under  the  buyer.  The  group  of  unclassified  male 
employes  is  made  up  of  various  elements.  It  in- 
cludes bakers,  ice  cream  makers,  drapery  cutters, 
and  unspecified  office  employes,  as  well  as  engineers 
and  electricians. 

The  total  number  of  women  in  Baltimore  retail 
stores  is  more  than  twice  the  number  of  men. 
This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  retail  selling  is 
preeminently  an  occupation  for  women.  The 
United  States  Census  of  1900*  reports  for  the 
mercantile  industry  as  a  whole  that  23.3  per  cent 
of  the  persons  in  this  occupation  were  women,  but 
the  census  returns  include  not  only  large  whole- 
sale houses  with  their  contingent  of  traveling 
salesmen,  but  very  small  retail  houses  in  which 
the  proprietor  supervises  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness. Yet  even  taking  this  into  consideration, 
Baltimore,  according  to  the  United  States  Census 
returns,  from  among  ten  selected  cities,  has  the 
highest  percentage  of  saleswomen — 38.1  per  cent. 
In  the  34  retail  stores  upon  which  this  study  is 
based,  the  women  employes  form  68.57  Per  cent 

*  Special  Reports  of  the  Census  Office.  Statistics  of  Women  at 
Work,  1900.  Saleswomen,  pp.  91-97.  It  is  to  be  understood  that 
the  figures  and  percentages  given  for  salesmen  and  saleswomen  by 
the  United  States  Census  returns  presumably  include  other  employes 
in  stores  as  well  as  those  whose  duties  are  confined  solely  to  selling. 


J.       A      6? 

Ills? 

CO 

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£ 

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59 


SALESWOMEN 

of  the  total  employes,  a  difference  of  30.47  per 
cent  in  favor  of  the  retail  mercantile  industry  as 
distinguished  from  the  mercantile  industry  as  a 
whole.  This  preponderance  of  saleswomen  in  the 
retail  mercantile  industry,  while  possibly  existing 
in  Baltimore  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  other 
eastern  cities,  as  indicated  by  the  United  States 
Census  returns,  no  doubt  obtains  in  retail  establish- 
ments in  general. 

The  occupation  engaging  the  largest  actual 
number  and  the  highest  percentage  of  women  em- 
ployes is  selling.  The  diagram  illustrates  the 
comparative  percentages  of  women  in  different 
occupational  groups.  It  will  be  noted  that  54.78 
per  cent  of  the  women  employes  are  saleswomen, 
and  that  alteration  hands,  9.59  per  cent,  form  the 
next  largest  group. 

If  we  regard  buyers  as  the  skilled  employes 
in  mercantile  houses,  it  is  significant  to  compare 
the  percentages  of  men  buyers  among  total  men 
employes  with  the  percentage  of  women  buyers 
among  total  women  employes.  In  the  former 
case,  the  percentage  is  8.29  per  cent;  in  the  latter 
case,  1.67  per  cent.  In  other  words,  8*4  per  cent 
of  the  men  in  mercantile  houses,  and  but  ij^  per 
cent  of  the  women,  may  be  regarded  as  skilled. 


60 


CHAPTER  V 

HOURS  OF  WORK 

INFLUENCE  OF  MARKETS 

CUSTOM  and  the  neighboring  market  de- 
termine the  length  of  the  saleswoman's 
working  day.  Custom  has  made  Monday 
preeminent  as  shopping  day  in  Baltimore;  and 
the  opening  of  the  markets  on  Tuesday,  Friday, 
and  Saturday,  has  made  these  last  two  days,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  Tuesday  also,  days  of  heavy 
trade.  In  another  city  we  should  expect  that 
stores  would  be  reasonably  full  of  customers 
any  time  between  10:30  in  the  morning  and  4 
in  the  afternoon,  whether  our  visit  occurred  on 
Tuesday,  Wednesday,  or  on  any  other  day  of  the 
week.  Not  so  in  Baltimore.  Could  we  gather 
statistics  of  the  number  of  people  on  Lexington 
Street  during  successive  days,  we  should  find 
astonishing  irregularity.  Monday  morning  would 
show  a  constantly  increasing  volume  of  pedestrian 
travel,  reaching  its  maximum  at  noon  and  hold- 
ing it  until  possibly  4  o'clock.  Although  most  of 
the  market  stalls  would  be  empty,  such  induce- 
ments as  trading  stamp  bargains  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  crowd  the  narrow  part  of  Lexington 

61 


SALESWOMEN 

Street  to  the  curb.  Yet  the  waning  of  traffic 
toward  evening  would  not,  except  in  two  or  three 
of  the  stores,  be  followed  the  next  day  by  a 
like  increase  in  volume.  The  opening  of  the 
market  secures  trade  to  these  stores  on  Tuesday, 
but  for  the  most  part  the  phonographs  of  the 
moving  picture  shows  grind  out  "Dixie"  to  an 
empty  and  unresponsive  street.  Not  until  Fri- 
day does  activity  reawaken;  during  the  preceding 
interval  you  may  wander  at  your  leisure  through 
nearly  vacant  aisles  and  take  your  time  to  compare 
the  advantages  offered  by  different  stores;  you 
will  not  be  jostled  nor  disturbed.  The  market 
stalls  are  closed.  The  street  has  sunk  into  its 
midweek  lethargy. 

Friday  brings  the  opening  of  the  market  and 
new  life  to  Lexington  Street.  The  volume  of 
trade  increases  steadily  through  Friday  afternoon, 
drops  again  Saturday  morning,  when  customers 
are  busy  at  home  or  buying  supplies  for  Sunday, 
and  by  the  middle  of  Saturday  afternoon  it  passes 
the  highest  point  reached  on  Monday.  This 
Saturday  afternoon  trade  is  the  product  of  several 
factors.  The  markets  are  open.  The  prospect 
of  a  long  day  brings  from  out  of  town  a  host  of 
purchasers  who  combine  shopping  and  marketing 
and  "a  good  time"  without  leaving  the  line  of 
travel  from  Eutaw  Street  to  Charles.  The  same 
motives,  with  perhaps  some  change  of  emphasis, 
bring  townspeople  out  in  force.  Drifting  from 
square  to  square,  looking  in  at  shop  windows, 

62 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

stopping  to  compare,  to  price,  to  buy,  the  crowd 
moves  leisurely,  undeterminedly,  played  upon  by 
impulse  and  suggestion.  Those  who  have  needs 
are  fewer  toward  the  end  of  the  afternoon.  Those 
bent  on  pleasure  gain  additions  to  their  number. 
Yet  the  hope  that  some  individuals  may  be 
turned  from  pleasure  seeking  to  serious  buying 
causes  the  stores  to  keep  open  through  the  even- 
ing until  an  hour  when  the  crowds  have  melted 
away. 

As  a  whole,  then,  the  stores  do  the  larger  part 
of  their  business  Mondays,  Fridays,  and  Satur- 
days. In  this  fact  lies  the  explanation  of  the 
difference  on  the  one  hand,  between  the  length 
of  the  workday  Monday  and  that  of  the  day  in 
the  middle  of  the  week;  and  on  the  other,  between 
the  length  of  the  workday  in  the  middle  of  the 
week  and  on  Saturday.  The  midweek  working 
day  ranges  in  different  stores  from  eight  and  a 
half  to  eleven  hours.  On  Monday  the  range  is 
from  eight  and  a  half  to  twelve  and  a  quarter 
hours;  on  Saturday  from  a  five-  to  a  fourteen-hour 
day.* 

The  variation  of  the  working  day  both  between 
stores  and  between  districts  is  considerable. 
South  Broadway,  for  instance,  exists  for  its 
Saturday  evening  and  Monday  evening  trade. 
Although  the  Monday  evening  trade  is  less  in 
amount  than  formerly,  all  the  stores  continue 

*  The  five-hour  limit  occurs  in  two  stores  which  observe  the  Jewish 
Sabbath. 

63 


SALESWOMEN 

to  keep  open  on  both  Mondays  and  Saturdays. 
The  long  working  hours  and  the  late  home-coming 
of  the  men  and  women  of  the  neighborhood, 
the  consequent  late  buying  at  Fells  Point  Market, 
as  well  as  the  street  life  of  the  Slavic  people  here, 
all  combine  to  prolong  Saturday  evening  in  the 
stores  and  to  delay  the  closing  hour  until  1 1  : 30 
or  12  o'clock.  In  this  district,  Saturday  evening 
buying  is  done  in  earnest.  You  do  not  hear  of 
"hexers"  and  "killers"*  out  for  a  good  time; 
instead  you  see  serious  shoppers  getting  Sunday 
finery  and  household  supplies.  The  crowd  that 
drifts  through  the  aisles  is  not  altogether  purpose- 
ful, of  course,  but  on  the  whole  the  people  come  to 
buy.  Undoubtedly,  for  many  of  them  Saturday 
evening  is  the  only  time  when  shopping  is  possible. 
One  store  opens  at  7:45  every  morning  to  catch 
the  trilling  purchases  of  people  on  their  way  to 
work,  and  one  store  is  open  each  evening  except 
Friday.  This  latter  store  is  closed  for  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  from  sundown  Friday  until  sundown 
Saturday,  all  the  sales  people  being  on  duty  every 
day  and  Saturday  evening.  Only  half  the  force, 
however,  is  at  work  during  the  four  other  evenings, 
each  sales  person  being  allowed  two  nights  a  week 
from  6:00  p.  m. 

Economically,  the  people  of  Fells  Point  are 
homogeneous.  The  exodus  of  workingmen  and 
girls  in  early  morning  is  followed  by  their  return, 

*  These  terms  are  used  locally  of  shoppers  who  examine  goods 
and  ask  questions  with  no  intention  of  buying. 

64 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

late  and  tired,  after  night  has  fallen.  The  week's 
buying,  the  week's  shopping,  the  week's  pleasure, 
are  gathered  into  the  hours  of  one  evening.  This 
is  by  no  means  true  to  the  same  extent  of  the  dis- 
trict about  lower  Light  and  Charles  Streets  in 
South  Baltimore.  The  neighborhood,  the  needs, 
and  the  customs  of  the  people  are  heterogeneous. 
Dullness  of  trade  during  the  day  is  traceable 
equally  to  the  fact  that  many  people  are  at  work, 
and  to  the  fact  that  those  at  home  know  that  they 
can  do  their  shopping  later.  The  total  volume 
of  business  is  thinly  spread  out  over  a  number  of 
hours,  and  the  evening  is  scarcely  distinguish- 
able in  activity  from  the  day. 

One  store,  which  appeals  to  neighborhood  people 
of  higher  social  grade,  closes  at  6  o'clock  on  all 
evenings  except  Monday  and  Saturday,  but  keeps 
open  until  9:30  on  Monday,  and  1 1 130  on  Satur- 
day evenings;  it  opens  at  7:30  in  the  mornings 
for  the  benefit  of  people  on  their  way  to  work. 
"Yes,  we  are  busy  in  the  evening,"  the  girls  say, 
"but  then  no  more  so  than  we  are  during  the  day. 
Of  course  there  are  some  who  couldn't  come  any 
other  time,  but  a  good  many  come  just  because 
they  know  they  can.  This  store  used  to  be  open 
every  evening,  too,  like  the  store  down  the  street, 
but  we  get  along  with  two  evenings  now,  and  it 
seems  like  we  could  get  along  with  one,  for  all  the 
trade  we  have."  The  store  "down  the  street" 
is  a  little  farther  away  from  the  better  residences 
of  the  neighborhood.  Its  stock  is  designed  to 
5  65 


SALESWOMEN 

attract  the  working  class,  and  its  hours  are 
lengthened  accordingly.  Open  every  evening  in 
the  week  until  9  o'clock,  and  on  Saturdays  until 
1 1 : 30,  it  allows  its  sales  people  choice  of  one  after- 
noon and  one  evening,  or  two  evenings  a  week, 
free.  For  the  rest  of  the  time,  all  are  on  duty. 
Trade  is  noticeably  heavier  in  the  evenings,  al- 
though here,  instead  of  being  gathered  into  one 
gala  night,  it  is  spread  out  over  the  whole  week 
according  to  the  needs  or  convenience  of  customers. 
The  smaller  stores  of  the  district,  like  this  larger 
store,  are  open  always  at  night. 

The  custom  of  Monday  shopping  has  fallen 
into  disfavor  on  Gay  Street.  Only  one  store,  a 
little  out  of  the  district,  still  keeps  up  its  Monday 
and  Wednesday  evening  opening;  the  others  are 
closed  at  6:00  or  6:30  p.  m.,  except  on  Saturday, 
when  the  heaviest  business  of  the  week  is  done. 
Serving  not  only  the  country  shoppers  who  live  at 
the  end  of  the  Gay  Street  line,  in  for  the  day,  but 
also  the  men  and  women  who  leave  the  neighbor- 
hood to  go  to  their  work  in  the  city,  and  countless 
housewives  who  never  leave  the  district  at  all,  the 
stores  regard  their  Saturday  nights  as  essential. 
The  trade  after  working  hours,  if  not  secured  on  a 
week  day  must  be  gained  at  the  end  of  the  week 
when  the  district  has  a  mind  to  buy. 

The  lunch  and  supper  periods  tend  to  be  more 
flexible  than  is  possible  in  the  large  down-town 
stores.  This  is  true  not  only  of  Gay  Street,  but 
of  the  other  minor  shopping  districts  as  well. 

66 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

An  hour  and  a  quarter  is  allowed  in  two  stores, 
and  saleswomen  may  often  obtain  time  off  in  the 
middle  of  the  day.  Although  this  does  not  com- 
pensate for  their  later  night  hours,  it  gives  them  a 
feeling  of  greater  freedom  than  they  could  have 
under  the  necessarily  more  rigid  requirements  of 
larger  establishments. 

The  opening  hour  of  the  stores  about  Lexington 
Market  is  8:00,  8:15,  or  8:30  a.  m.  during  the 
middle  of  the  week,  but  here  and  there  a  shrewd 
proprietor  shows  his  faith  in  Monday  morning 
trade  by  opening  at  7:45.  The  "lunch  hour,"  which 
is  really  an  hour  from  Tuesday  through  Saturday, 
becomes  half  an  hour  on  Mondays  in  18  of  the  22 
stores  in  this  neighborhood.  Possibly  the  dullness 
of  the  morrow  may  be  thought  to  compensate  for 
the  uninterrupted  activity  of  the  first  working  day 
of  the  week.  Five  stores  shorten  the  lunch  hour 
again  on  Friday  or  Saturday,  but  for  the  most  part 
the  volume  of  trade  is  so  small  both  Friday  and 
Saturday  mornings  that  a  lunch  period  of  the 
usual  length  may  be  allowed.  Six  o'clock  is 
the  closing  time  from  Monday  through  Friday 
for  all  the  stores  about  Lexington  Market. 

On  Saturday,  however,  it  appears  that  there  is 
a  line  of  cleavage  as  to  hours  among  the  stores  of 
the  Lexington  Market  section.  On  one  side  are 
the  stores  which  seek  only  what  is  called  the  better 
class  of  trade;  on  the  other  side  are  those  which 
bid  not  for  one  class  of  trade  but  for  several,  and 
those  again  which  make  their  chief  appeal  to  the 

67 


SALESWOMEN 

poorer  and  less  discriminating  bargain  seekers, 
who  outnumber  customers  in  the  other  groups. 
Stores  of  the  former  type,  while  affected  as  all  of 
Lexington  Street  is  by  the  influx  of  trade  on  market 
days,  and  by  the  custom  of  Monday  shopping, 
are  affected  to  a  lesser  degree  than  their  neighbors. 
Many  of  their  customers,  in  fact,  prefer  to  avoid 
the  crowded  Monday,  and  to  come  instead  on 
Tuesdays  when  quiet  reigns  and  Lexington  Street 
is  passable.  These  same  customers  shop  on  Satur- 
days, it  is  true,  but  they  take  no  pleasure  in  the 
leisurely  confusion  of  Saturday  mid-afternoon 
or  the  frivolity  of  Saturday  night,  and  with  the 
rise  of  gayety  about  the  market  they  shun  the 
district  until  Sunday  has  passed  over  it  once  more. 

Stores  that  serve  this  type  of  patron,  then,  have 
no  incentive  to  remain  open  Saturday  evening. 
They  emphasize  their  distinctiveness  by  closing 
their  doors  and  lighting  their  show  windows  when 
the  rest  of  the  street  is  still  in  full  blaze  of  activity. 
In  addition  to  these,  three  other  stores,  which 
really  belong  to  the  second  group,  close  early, 
also  out  of  concession  to  their  location.  Two  of 
them,  however,  make  final  protest  by  remaining 
open  until  6:30,  before  they  too  succumb  to  the 
example  of  their  neighbors  on  Charles  Street. 
The  part  of  Lexington  Street  where  they  chance 
to  be  is  out  of  the  way  for  evening  shoppers. 

The  third  and  larger  group  of  stores  is  divided 
into  several  sub-groups.  The  smallest  of  these 
attempts  to  hold  its  own  against  competitors  by 

68 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

keeping  open  until  ten.  The  four  stores  in  this 
sub-group  have  a  trade  not  wholly  of  either  class 
of  customers.  Without  exception  the  saleswomen 
say  that  they  do  nothing  Saturday  evenings, 
and  that  the  people  who  do  come  into  the  stores 
are  only  "hexers."  In  many  cases,  officials  in 
the  stores  confirm  this  statement,  but  they  do  not 
wish  to  risk  losing  the  fringe  of  their  trade  which 
would  fall  to  competitors  were  they  to  close. 
Seven  stores  close  at  10:30.  Two  keep  open  until 
1 1  o'clock.  To  these  latter,  and  to  some  of  the 
others,  Saturday  evening  sales  are  undoubtedly 
important,  yet  so  nearly  uniform  is  the  testimony 
of  store  employes  with  regard  to  the  dullness  of 
trade,  that  it  may  be  questioned  whether,  if  in 
addition  to  the  expense  of  lighting  and  heating 
the  store  in  the  evening  there  were  the  expense 
of  paying  for  the  services  of  employes  after  6:00 
p.  m.,  the  evening  opening  would  be  financially 
justified.  The  demand  of  customers  for  such 
opening  may  be  regarded  as  too  slight  to  be  an 
adequate  motive.  Lexington  Market  is  not  a 
neighborhood  center  like  Fells  Point  or  Lafayette 
Market,  or  even  Cross  Market  in  South  Balti- 
more; it  may  be  assumed  that  the  greater  number 
of  people  who  buy  there  could  buy  in  the  morning 
or  afternoon  were  it  necessary.  Moreover,  the 
trade  that  comes  to  the  stores  from  the  market 
comes  for  the  most  part  during  the  afternoon. 
Yet,  although  but  few  store  officials  fail  to  recog- 
nize this,  although  many  express  their  desire  for 

69 


SALESWOMEN 

shorter  hours  on  Saturday,  inertia  and  mutual 
distrust  serve  to  continue  the  long  working  day 
at  the  end  of  the  week. 

These  general  irregularities  of  the  time  schedule 
on  successive  days  have  increased  the  total  hours 
of  employes  per  week  considerably  beyond  the 
total  obtainable  by  multiplying  by  six  the  mid- 
week working  day.  One  store  with  a  nine-hour 
midweek  working  day,  has  a  working  week  of 
fifty-nine  hours  and  a  half;  another  with  a  nine- 
hour  midweek  day,  has  a  working  week  of  sixty- 
five  hours.  One  with  an  eight  and  a  half-hour 
day  has  a  working  week  of  fifty-nine  hours, 
and  another  with  a  nine-hour  day  has  a  week  of 
fifty-eight  and  a  quarter  hours.  One  store  which 
is  open  to  customers  fifty-seven  hours  and  a  half, 
yet  reduces  the  hours  of  its  sales  people  to  fifty- 
five  per  week  by  allowing  half  its  force  to  come 
half  an  hour  late  in  the  morning  and  to  leave  at 
the  regular  closing  time,  the  following  day  coming 
at  the  regular  opening  time  and  leaving  half  an 
hour  before  closing.  This  alternation  of  early 
and  late  days  reduces  the  working  time  of  each 
sales  person  half  an  hour  daily  and  two  hours  and 
a  half  per  week.  Elsewhere,  however,  the  hours 
during  which  the  store  is  open  mean,  as  a  rule, 
the  hours  during  which  the  selling  force  and  other 
employes  are  at  work. 

It  has  seemed  reasonable  for  statistical  purposes 
to  compare  the  theoretic  working  week  obtainable 
by  multiplying  the  midweek  working  day  by  six, 

70 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

with  the  actual  working  hours  of  the  sales  people 
in  the  store.  We  have  not  attempted  to  take 
any  one  schedule  of  hours  per  week  as  a  standard. 
Fifty-one  hours  per  week  is  the  least  demanded 
by  any  store,  and  measured  by  this  standard  the 
divergence  of  the  rest  would  seem  in  notable  con- 
trast. It  seems  fairer  to  compare  actual  working 
hours  of  a  store  only  with  its  own  theoretic  working 
week  as  a  basis  for  estimating  the  extra  hours. 
We  have  regarded  as  extra,  the  hours  that  the 
sales  force  is  on  duty  over  and  above  the  hours 
of  the  theoretic  working  week,  based  on  the  mid- 
week working  day  of  a  given  store.  In  other 
words,  we  have  not  estimated  all  hours  beyond 
fifty  per  week  as  extra,  but  have  used  whatever 
may  be  the  midweek  working  day  of  a  given  store, 
—eight  and  a  half  hours,  eight  and  three-quarters, 
nine,  or  in  some  cases  more, — and  on  this  basis 
have  calculated  as  extra  the  additional  hours  in 
this  particular  store.*  The  accompanying  tables 
and  diagrams  illustrate  the  theoretic  and  actual 
working  hours  per  week  in  each  store  in  the 
several  shopping  districts  of  the  city,  the  stores 
being  designated  in  the  table  by  numerals. 

It  will  be  noticed  in  Table  4  that  in  only  three 
stores  are  there  no  extra  hours.     In  these  three 


*  In  a  few  cases,  where  stores  are  open  every  evening  or  several 
evenings  in  the  week,  the  same  sales  people  being  on  duty  each  day 
and  for  some  of  the  evenings  in  addition,  it  has  seemed  reasonable 
to  estimate  the  theoretic  working  week  from  the  opening  hour  in  the 
morning  until  6:00  p.  m.,  regarding  all  time  after  6:00  p.  m.  as 
extra. 

71 


SALESWOMEN 

the  actual  and  the  theoretic  working  weeks  coin- 
cide.    For  the  rest,  the  divergence  is  from  one- 

TABLE  4.— THEORETIC  (SIX  TIMES  MIDWEEK  WORKING 
DAY)  AND  ACTUAL  NUMBER  OF  HOURS  PER  WEEK 
SALESWOMEN  WORK  IN  34  BALTIMORE  STORES. 
ACTUAL  AND  PERCENTAGE  INCREASE 


Store 
Number 

2 

3 
4 

I 

8 

9 
10 
ii 

12 
13 
U 
15 

16 

'7 
18 

19 

20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 

2? 
28 

29 
3<> 
31 
32 

33 

34 


Theoretic 
Hours 
54.0 
52.5 
52.5 
51.0 

52.5 
54-0 
51.0 
54.0 
52.5 
54.0 
52.5 
52.5 
52.5 
49-5 
54.0 
51.0 
51.0 

55-5 
54.0 
51.0 
54.0 

49-5 
51.0 
54.0 
51.0 
51.0 
51.0 

52.5 
54.0 
54.0 
54.0 
57.0 
58.5 
57.0 


Actual 
Hours 

59-5 

52-5 

56.5 

51.0 

56-75 

57-5 

59-o 

58.0 

56.0 

65.0 

53-5 

53.0 

57.0 

55-75 

55-o 

54-5 

5i-5 

59-25 

58.25 

55-25 

59.0 

52.25 

55-25 

64.5 

51.0 

52.0 

55.0 

53-25 

61.0 

58.0 

58.75 

59-75 

64.5 

64.0 


Increase 

Hours  Per  cent 

5.5  10.2 


4.0 

4-25 
3-5 
8.0 
4.0 

3-5 
i  i.o 

I.O 


I.O 

3-5 
-5 

3-75 
4.25 
4.25 
5.0 

2-75 

4.25 
10.5 

i.o 
4.0 

•75 
7.0 
4.0 
4-75 
J-75 
6.0 
7.0 


7.6 

8.0 
6.4 
15.6 

It 

20.3 

i-9 

&1 

12.6 
1.8 
6.8 


7.8 
8.3 
9-2 

1:1 

19.4 


7-8 

1.4 

12.9 

7-4 

4.8 

10.2 
12.2 


half  hour  to  eleven  hours.     The  longest  theoretic 
working  week  is  fifty-eight  and  a  half  hours,  the 

72 


HOURS    OF    WORK 


actual  working  week  in  this  case  being  sixty-four 
and  a  half  hours.  From  four  and  a  half  to  five 
hours'  excess  seems  to  be  the  difference  in  the 
majority  of  cases. 


Hours 


Theoretic  week 
52.9  hours 


Actual  week 
56.9  hours 


DIAGRAM  B. — THE  AVERAGE  THEORETIC  WEEK  AND  THE  AVERAGE 

ACTUAL  WEEK  COMPUTED  FROM  THE  FIGURES  OF  34 

BALTIMORE  STORES 


Turning  from  Diagram  B,  which  groups  to- 
gether all  the  stores,  we  have  grouped  stores 
by  shopping  districts  in  the  following  series  of 
tables: 

73 


SALESWOMEN 

TABLE  5.— THEORETIC  AND  ACTUAL  NUMBEROF  HOURS 
PER  WEEK  SALESWOMEN  WORK  IN  21  STORES. 

LEXINGTON   MARKET  SHOPPING  DISTRICT 

Store  Number         Theoretic  Hours  Actual  Hours 

1  54.0  59.5 

2  52.5  52-5 

3  52-5  56.5 

4  51.0  51.0 

5  52.5  56-75 
54.0  58.0 

9  52.5  56.0 

11  52.5  53.5 

12  52.5  53.0 

13  52.5  57.0 

15  54.0  55.0 

16  51.0  54.5 

17  51.0  51.5 

18  55.5  59.25 

20  51.0  55-25 

23  51.0  55.25 

25  51.0  51.0 

27  5'-o  55-o 

28  52.0  53.25 

30  54.0  58-0 

31  54.0  58.75 

TABLE  6.— THEORETIC  AND  ACTUAL  NUMBER  OF  HOURS 
PER  WEEK  SALESWOMEN  WORK  IN  13  STORES  OUT- 
SIDE OF  LEXINGTON  MARKET  DISTRICT 

Gay  Street  District 

Store  Number         Theoretic  Hours  Actual  Hours 

7                          5'-°  59-° 

19  54.0  58.25 

21  54.0  59.0 

22  49.5  52.25 

32  57-o  59-75 
Fells  Point  District 

6  54.0  57.5 

14  49-5  55-75 

29  54.0  61.0     t 

33  58.5  64.5 
Pennsylvania  Ave.,  Wesi  Baltimore  St.,  South  Light  St.,  and  South 

Charles  Street  District 

10  54.0  65.0 

24  54-0  64-5 

26  51.0  52.0 

34  57.0  64.0 

74 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

The  variation  within  the  district  is  not  so  marked 
as  the  variation  between  two  separate  districts, 

TABLE  7.— NUMBEROF  HOURS  PER  WEEK  SALESWOMEN 
WORK  DURING  THE  MAJOR  PART  OF  THE  YEAR 
AND  DURING  THE  WEEK  BEFORE  CHRISTMAS; 
ACTUAL  AND  PERCENTAGE  INCREASE 

Increase 

Per  cent 

31.9 
17.1 
38.0 

29.5 
13.9 
18.6 
30.1 
16.0 
138 
43-9 

28.0 
9-8 
32.7 
27.5 

'5-5 
36.7 
27.8 
40.7 
33-4 
29.1 
31.6 
25-5 

8.6 
10.9 
19.7 
28.6 
32.7 
35-3 
28.8 

27.9 
26.5 

such  as,  for  instance,  Lexington  Market  and  Cross 
Street  Market.     On  the  whole,  the  lines  of  the 

75 


Hours 

Hours  the 

Store 

Major  Part 

Week  Before 

l\ 

Number 

of  Year 

Christmas 

Hours 

i 

59-5 

78.5 

19.0 

2 

52.5 

61.5 

9.0 

3 

56-5 

78.0 

21.5 

4 

51.0 

51.0 

5 

56.75 

73-5 

16.75 

6 

57-5 

65.5 

8.0 

7 

59-o 

70.0 

I  I.O 

8 

58.0 

75-5 

17-5 

9 

56.0 

65.0 

9.0 

10 

65.0 

74-o 

9.0 

ii 

53-5 

77-o 

23-5 

12 

53-o 

55-5 

2-5 

13 

57-o 

73-o 

1  6.0 

'4 

55-75 

61.25 

5-5 

'5 

55-0 

73-o 

1  8.0 

16 

54-5 

69-5 

15.0 

'7 

59-5 

8.0 

18 

59-25 

81.0 

21.75 

19 

58.25 

74-5 

16.25 

20 

55-25 

77-75 

22.5 

21 

59-o 

78.75 

19-75 

22 

52.25 

67.5 

15.25 

23 

55-25 

72-75 

'7-5 

24 

64.5 

81.0 

16.5 

25 

51.0 

51.0 

26 

52.0 

56.5 

4-5 

27 

55.0 

61.0 

6.0 

28 

53-25 

63.75 

10.5 

29 

61.0 

68.5 

17-5 

30 

58.0 

77.0 

19.0 

3' 

58.75 

79-5 

20.75 

32 

59-75 

77-o 

17.25 

33 

64.5 

82.5 

18.0 

34 

64.0 

81.0 

17.0 

SALESWOMEN 


actual  working  week  bear  out  what  has  been 
said  of  the  varying  importance  of  Saturday  night 
opening  in  different  sections  of  the  city. 

Table  7  illustrates  the  difference  in  the  working 
week  during  the  major  part  of  the  year  and  the 


lajor  part  of          Week  befor 
year                    Christmas 
56.9  hours             70.7  hours 

Hours 


70 


60 


50 


40 


'30 


20 


10 


DIAGRAM  C. — THE  AVERAGE  ACTUAL  WORKING  WEEK  DURING 
THE  MAJOR  PART  OF  THE  YEAR  AND  THE  AVERAGE  WEEK  JUST 
BEFORE  CHRISTMAS  COMPUTED  FROM  THE  FIGURES  OF  34 
BALTIMORE  STORES 


working  week  immediately  preceding  Christmas. 
Two  stores  make  no  change  in  hours.     In  the 

76 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

other  32,  Christmas  week  contains  from  three 
to  twenty  hours  more  than  the  working  week 
before  the  holiday  trade  began.  This  is  shown 
graphically  in  Diagram  C. 

The  sales  force  in  Baltimore  stores  is  not  kept 
at  work  after  the  store  has  closed,  to  put  stock 
in  order  and  to  arrange  holiday  goods.  This  is 
done,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  daytime.  Two 
stores  keep  their  employes  for  two  nights  in 
November  until  9:00  p.  m.,  and  one  store  is  open  in 
October  and  November  until  9:30  for  selling,  but 
with  these  exceptions,  not  until  December  does 
this  holiday  work  really  begin.  The  dates  of 
Christmas  opening  vary,  the  preference  being  for 
December  15,  16  stores,  employing  4303  people, 
opening  on  that  date.  Eleven  stores,  employing 
1682  people,  open  on  December  10.  Two  stores 
choose  December  i.  One  store  is  open  for  only 
four  nights  a  week,  and  one  for  one  night,  while 
one  keeps  only  the  employes  in  its  holiday  de- 
partments for  the  four  last  nights  before  Christmas, 
to  "fix  stock." 

The  time  schedule  of  the  week  immediately 
preceding  Christmas  is  not  only  lengthened  by 
night  work,  but  in  10  cases  by  reduction  of  lunch 
and  supper  periods.  The  hour  allowed  at  other 
times  is  reduced  during  that  week  to  one-half 
hour  (to  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  two  cases), 
or  else  no  time  is  assigned,  employes  being  ex- 
pected, they  say,  to  "come  back  in  twenty  minutes 
if  we  are  busy." 

77 


SALESWOMEN 

Nineteen  stores  keep  all  their  sales  people  on 
duty  during  the  entire  time  of  the  Christmas 
opening.  Others,  whose  trade  in  cloaks  and  suits 
and  millinery  is  not  much  stimulated  by  approach- 
ing holidays  allow  second  floor  sales  people  two 
nights  a  week.  If  the  store  is  one  which  is  open 
two  or  three  weeks  before  Christmas,  instead  of 
one  week,  this  privilege  is  sometimes  withdrawn 
after  the  first  week  and  the  second  floor  employes 
fare  like  the  rest.  In  four  cases  only  are  all  the 
sales  people  allowed  some  free  nights  each  week 
during  the  entire  time. 

Expressed  in  lines  and  figures,  the  Christmas 
"opening"  means  that  in  30  stores  the  working 
week  is  more  than  60  hours  long,  and  in  21  more 
than  70  hours  long.  Three  stores  reach  the  80- 
hour  mark,  and  indeed  of  these  three  it  is  said 
that  their  hours  are  unlimited,  the  time  of  closing 
being  fixed  solely  by  the  volume  of  the  crowd. 

It  would  seem  not  unreasonable  to  measure 
these  hours  by  the  standard  of  ten  hours  per  day, 
sixty  hours  per  week,  for  working  women  as  the 
maximum  period  of  time  within  which  health 
may  be  conserved,  which  has  been  enacted  into 
law  in  many  states.*  Not  to  enter  here  into  a 
discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  laws  which  give 
fifty-eight,  fifty-five,  and  forty-eight  hours  as  the 
weekly  maximum  of  time  for  the  work  of  women, 

*  See  footnote,  p.  20.  See  also,  Appendix  C,  p.  200,  for  statement 
in  regard  to  the  benefits  of  the  eight-hour  day  in  the  store  of  Hale 
Brothers,  San  Francisco. 

78 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

we  may  take  the  sixty-hour  limit  as  a  present 
practicable  standard.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  a  week  whose  working  hours  exceed  this 
maximum  means  a  week  of  overwork  with  conse- 
quent evil  physical  effects, — effects  often  imper- 
ceptible enough  at  the  outset  but  gathering 
momentum  with  each  succeeding  period  of  over- 
strain. Conceivably  this  overwork  might  be 
avoided  either  by  instituting  Christmas  shifts, — 
employing  a  different  sales  force  for  evening 
work, — or  by  the  agreement  of  merchants  to 
close  the  stores  at  the  usual  time  during  evenings 
in  December. 

Beginning  with  the  first  of  January,  14  of  the 
Lexington  Market  stores  close  a  half  hour  earlier 
on  Mondays  through  Fridays.  Four  of  them 
extend  this  rule  to  Saturday  night  as  well,  and 
shut  their  doors  half  an  hour  before  the  usual 
closing  time.  A  Light  Street  store  closes  at  6:30 
during  the  middle  of  the  week,  keeping  open  only 
on  Monday  and  Saturday  nights.  This  schedule, 
which  shortens  by  several  hours  the  total  of  the 
working  week,  is  in  force  until  the  first  of  March, 
when  the  former  arrangement  of  hours  is  resumed. 

The  mid-winter  stock  taking,  which  occurs 
during  January  or  February,  is  not  the  occasion 
for  night  work  in  Baltimore  stores  that  it  often 
is  in  the  stores  of  other  cities.  One  house  begins 
its  winter  and  summer  stock  taking  by  a  special 
sale,  in  preparation  for  which  the  store  is  closed 
to  customers  from  one  o'clock  of  the  afternoon 

79 


SALESWOMEN 

before.  Eighteen  stores  take  stock  without  any 
night  work  at  all.  Trade  is  dull,  few  customers 
interrupt  after  the  paroxysm  of  Christmas  buying 
has  subsided,  and  the  morning  hours,  which  are 
seldom  very  busy  even  at  other  seasons,  give 
sufficient  time  for  taking  stock.  In  the  other 
stores,  one  night  or  two  nights  at  most  is  all  that 
is  required.  Frequently  this  night  work,  where 
it  occurs,  is  at  the  option  of  the  department  and 
could  be  avoided  by  more  careful  management  of 
time  during  the  day.  Where  the  night  work  is 
ordered  by  the  store,  it  lasts  as  a  rule  not  later  than 
9:00  p.  m.  In  two  cases,  it  is  over  by  7:30  p.  m. 
A  marked  shortening  of  the  time  schedule 
appears  in  all  but  five  stores  during  July  and 
August.  Instead  of  6:00  p.  m.,  5  o'clock  becomes 
the  standard  time*  for  cessation  of  business;  and 
even  the  schedule  of  Saturday,  which  has  remained 
unmoved  in  the  midst  of  so  many  other  changes, 
cannot  altogether  and  invariably  withstand  the 
summer  heat.  It  is  true  that  in  18  stores  the 
Saturday  closing  hour  is  what  it  was  in  mid- 
winter or  spring  or  fall.  Those  stores  that  closed 
at  11:30  p.  m.  in  January,  continue  to  close  at 
1 1 : 30  in  July,  and  most  of  those  that  closed  at  1 1, 
remain  steadfast  to  the  same  principle.  A  few, 
however,  recognize  the  existence  of  summer  heat 
by  closing  at  10  o'clock  instead  of  at  10:30,  and 
nine  stores  shut  their  doors  at  one  in  the  afternoon. 

*  Twenty-five  of  the  34  stores,  employing  5979  people,  close  at 
5:00  p.  m.  daily  through  July  and  August.- 

80 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

TABLE  8.— SEASONAL    VARIATION  IN  WORKING  HOURS 

PER  WEEK  FOR  SALESWOMEN    IN  34  BALTIMORE 

STORES 

Store             Major  Part           January  July  and 

Number              of  Year         and  February  August 

1  59.5         57-o  54-5 

2  52-5         52-5  43-25 

3  56.5         54-0  5'-5 

4  51.0        51.0  42.0 

5  56.75        55-25  52-75 

6  57-5         57-5  57-5 

7  59-o        59-°  55-o 

8  58.0        55.5  51-5 

9  56.0        53.5  48.0 

10  65.0        65.0  65.0 

11  53.5         53.5  47-o 

12  53.0        50.5  44.0 

13  57.0        54.5  52.0 

14  55.75        55.75  50.0 

15  55.0        55.0  45.5 

16  54.5        49.5  49.5 

17  51.5        48.5  42.5 

18  59.25        56.75  54.25 

19  58.25        58.25  53.25 

20  55.25        55.25  50.25 

21  59.0        59.0  54.0 

22  52.25                           52.25  47.25 

23  55-25      52.75  52.75 

24  64.5        60.5  60.5 

25  51.0        51.0  42.0 

26  52.0        52.0  52.0 

27  55.0      51.0  43.0 

28  53.25      53.25  42.75 

29  61.0        61.0  57.0 

30  58.0        55.0  45.5 

31  58.75        58.75  56.25 

32  59-75        59-75  53-25 

33  64.5        64.5  61.5 

34  64.0        64.0  64.0 

Table  8  shows  the  comparison  of  actual  working 
weeks  in  different  stores  during  July,  January, 
and  months  midway  in  the  year.  The  continued 
schedule  of  sixty-five  hours  a  week  which  occurs 
in  one  case  is  no  less  remarkable  than  the  drop 
from  fifty-eight  to  forty-five  and  a  half  hours 
6  81 


SALESWOMEN 

which  occurs  in  another  by  shortening  the  working 
day  one  hour  and  closing  altogether  for  Saturday 
afternoon  and  evening.  Opinions  vary  as  to  the 
amount  of  business  transacted  during  the  summer 
months.  Quite  possibly,  however,  where  Satur- 
day has  been  found  dull  in  mid-winter,  it  is  no 
less  dull  at  a  season  when  the  heat  forbids  one 
even  to  think  of  staying  indoors.  The  six  stores 
about  Lexington  Market  which  continue  their 
Saturday  night  opening  unchanged,  cannot  plead 
either  an  extensive  neighborhood  trade  or  the 
fear  of  competitors  as  a  reason  for  their  policy. 

Sunday  work,  an  evil  sometimes  attendant  upon 
the  pre-Christmas  season,  is  of  rare  occurrence. 
In  three  stores,  sales  people  worked  one  Sunday 
before  Christmas,  1908,  arranging  stock.  In 
another  store,  which  observes  the  Jewish  Sabbath, 
the  milliners  were  busy  the  Sunday  before  Easter, 
and  the  Jewish  employes  are  sometimes  asked  to 
work  on  Sunday  when  new  stock  comes  in. 

The  holidays  given  with  pay  among  the  entire 
34  stores  are  easily  chronicled.  There  are  four 
of  them:  New  Years'  Day,  July  Fourth,  Thanks- 
giving Day,  and  Christmas.  Twelve  stores  add 
the  two  chief  Jewish  holidays, — The  Day  of  Atone- 
ment and  the  Jewish  New  Year;  and  in  one  store 
all  the  Jewish  holidays  are  observed.  Four  stores 
close  in  the  afternoon  of  Washington's  Birthday. 
The  other  holidays,  which  after  all  come  not  so 
frequently  as  to  be  valueless,  are  customarily 
disregarded  by  the  mercantile  houses. 

82 


CHAPTER  VI 
SEASONS  OF  WORK  AND  CASUAL  LABOR 

SEASONAL  variation  in  the  number  of 
employes  in  Baltimore  stores  corresponds 
to  variation  in  volume  of  business.  The 
preceding  chapter  on  hours  of  work  has  indicated 
in  a  measure  this  variation,  and  in  the  chapter  on 
organization  of  work  people  the  normal  numbers 
employed  were  given.  It  remains  to  state  more 
specifically  the  variation  according  to  different 
seasons,  and  to  distinguish  between  periods  of 
casual  or  intermittent  employment  and  periods 
of  temporary  employment. 

Table  9,  on  the  next  page,  shows  the  total 
numbers  of  male  and  female  employes  at  different 
seasons  of  the  year  together  with  the  per  cent  of 
variation  from  normal  for  each  group,  and  for  the 
body  of  employes  considered  as  a  whole. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  largest  fluctuations 
are  due  to  increase  rather  than  to  decrease  in  the 
total  number  of  employes;  that  is,  to  the  inter- 
mittent employment  of  casual  laborers  in  large 
numbers  rather  than  to  the  cutting  down  of  the 
force  in  dull  seasons. 

83 


SALESWOMEN 

TABLE  9.— NUMBERS  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  EMPLOYES 
IN  34  BALTIMORE  STORES  AT  DIFFERENT  SEASONS, 
AND  PER  CENT  VARIATION  FROM  NORMAL 


Grade  * 

Total 
Em- 
ployes 

Per 

cent 
Varia- 
tion 

Male 

Per 

cent 
Vari- 
ation 

Female 

Per 

cent 
Vari- 
ation 

Maximum  

778} 

18.58 

2245 

883 

cc:>8 

2a  04 

Normal  

if 

6564 

206} 

4=01 

Minimum  

5Q2I 

Q.8 

2OI  I 

2  5^ 

3QIO 

13  R 

Table  10  shows  the  variation  in  number  of 
employes  in  one  of  the  Baltimore  stores.  The 
December  weeks  first  appear  as  a  time  for  large 
increase  in  numbers.  Twenty-six  of  the  34  stores 
employ  casuals  during  this  time,  the  period  of 
employment  varying  from  two  to  four,  some- 
times to  six,  weeks.  Three  weeks,  however,  from 
December  i  to  24,  is  the  average  period  of  employ- 
ment. 

Although  between  all  groups  there  is  some 
fluctuation,  it  is  striking  that  the  variations  among 
female  employes  toward  maximum  numbers  should 
be  over  14  per  cent,  and  toward  minimum  should 
be  over  10  per  cent  greater  than  the  correspond- 

*  Minimum  figures  given  in  the  tables  represent  the  number  of 
employes  actually  on  the  payrolls  when  trade  is  dullest,  that  is,  early 
in  the  year  and  in  summer.  The  normal  figures  represent  the  spring 
and  fall  payrolls  during  the  months  when  neither  sales  force  nor 
manufacturing  force  has  been  temporarily  increased.  The  maximum 
figures,  while  nearly  corresponding  to  the  number  of  people  employed 
during  the  month  of  December,  must  be  regarded  rather  as  the  sum 
of  all  possible  positions  to  be  filled  during  a  year.  The  maximum 
includes  both  the  total  selling  force  at  its  height  in  December  and  the 
total  workroom  force  at  its  height  in  April. 

84 


SEASONS  OF  WORK  AND  CASUAL  LABOR 


ing  variations  among  male  employes  (see  Table  9). 
The  variations  among  female  employes  were  in  the 

TABLE  10.— VARIATION   IN  NUMBER  OF  EMPLOYES  IN 
ONE  BALTIMORE  STORE.— BY  SEX  AND  OCCUPATION 

A.  NUMBER  OF  EMPLOYES 

Maximum  Normal  Minimum 

Total 245  175  151 

Men 47  35  30 

Women 198  140  121 


Men 


B.  OCCUPATION  OF 

Maximum 
Cash  boys  ......     8 


Delivery  boys 
Drivers 
Porters 
Clerks 
Salesmen 
Heads  of  stock 
Floorwalkers  .. 
Buyers 


EMPLOYES 
Normal 
6 
5 
3 
3 


Other..  .    10 


Total . . 

Women 

Cash  girls .... 
Stock  girls  .  .  . 
Wrappers.  .  .  . 
Saleswomen .  . 
Heads  of  stock 

Buyers 

Cashiers 8 

Milliners 16 

Alteration  hands.  22 
Other. . 


-••47 
Maximum 

...     5 
...    10 
. . . 105 
16 
6 


35 

Normal 


10 


76 


4 
10 

14 

7 


Total . 


Minimum 
5 
4 
3 

2 


2 

6 

8 

30 

Minimum 

3 

4 


4 

5 

10 

5 

121 


. 198  140 

NOTE. — It  will  be  noticed  that  the  only  occupational  group  in 
which  the  numbers  are  constant  is  the  group  of  buyers,  the  numbers 
of  whom  among  both  men  and  women  are  unchanged  from  minimum 
to  maximum.  This  is  a  further  indication  that  as  the  industry 
stands  at  present,  buyers  alone  may  be  regarded  as  the  skilled  em- 
ployes. (See  p.  60.)  The  fluctuations  among  the  other  groups,  which 
occur  among  both  men  and  women  employes,  although  among  women 
employes  to  a  greater  degree,  indicate  that  these  other  occupational 
groups  tend  to  be  made  up  in  large  part  of  relatively  unskilled  hands. 

85 


SALESWOMEN 

one  case  more  than  4  per  cent,  and  in  the  other 
more  than  3  per  cent  greater  than  the  variations 
among  total  employes,  indicating  that  the  tendency 
toward  employment  as  casual  laborers  is  much 
greater  in  this  industry  among  women  than  among 
men.  The  largest  increases  among  women  em- 
ployes occur  usually  in  the  selling  force,  the  vari- 
ation from  normal  to  maximum  being  34.51  per 
cent  for  the  month  of  December  (see  Table  11), 
a  percentage  greater  by  16  per  cent  than  the 
variation  to  maximum  from  normal  for  all  em- 
ployes, and  greater  by  about  1 1  per  cent  than  the 
variation  to  maximum  from  normal  for  all  women 
employes  (see  Table  9).  These  casual  saleswomen 
are  drawn  in  part  from  millinery  houses,  in  part 
from  among  home-staying  women  otherwise  not 
employed,  and  in  part  from  sundry  of  the  needle 
trades. 

The  number  of  salesmen  shows  no  increase  at 
Christmas  and  but  slight  decrease  during  the  sum- 
mer months.  The  principal  increase  is  among 
drivers  and  delivery  boys,  the  number  of  drivers 
varying  from  135  to  183  during  December  and 
the  number  of  delivery  boys  from  326  to  411. 
This  employment  of  extra  delivery  boys  is  the 
nearest  approach  to  casual  labor  among  male 
employes  in  Baltimore  mercantile  houses. 

Table  1 1  shows  the  actual  numbers  of  sales- 
women employed  at  different  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  per  cent  variation  in  the  numbers  of  those 
employed  by  the  week: 

86 


SEASONS    OF    WORK    AND    CASUAL    LABOR 

TABLE  11  —VARIATION  IN  NUMBER  OF  SALESWOMEN  EM- 
PLOYED BY  THE  WEEK  IN  34  BALTIMORE  STORES, 
AND  PER  CENT  VARIATION  FROM  NORMAL 


Grade 

Number 

Period 

Per  cent 
Variation 
from  Normal 

Maximum 

33  17 

i  mo. 

34.51 

Normal 

y**z 

2466 

9  mos. 

Minimum              .  . 

2208 

2  mos. 

10.47 

It  would  seem  from  comparison  of  per  cent 
variations  in  this  table  with  per  cent  variations 
for  all  female  employes  and  for  all  employes 
(Table  9,  p.  84),  and  from  comparison  of  per  cent 
variation  to  maximum  from  normal  in  this  table 
with  per  cent  variation  to  minimum  from  normal, 
that  the  employment  of  casual  labor  in  mercantile 
houses  is  found  for  the  most  part  among  sales- 
women. In  other  words,  there  would  seem  to 
be  evidence,  as  noted  in  a  previous  chapter,  that 
the  occupation  of  saleswoman  is  regarded  in  the 
main  as  unskilled,  that  positions  may  be  readily 
and  indifferently  filled  by  a  new  group  of  indi- 
viduals, and  that  the  number  of  positions  may  be 
considerably  lessened  or  very  greatly  enlarged, 
according  to  seasonal  necessities,  without  apparent 
harm  to  the  industry. 

This  variation  in  the  numbers  of  saleswomen 
illustrates  the  employment  of  casual  labor  in  its 
most  striking  form.  The  diagram  on  page  88  may 
serve  as  a  further  illustration  of  the  difference 
between  the  terms  on  which  men  and  women  are 
employed  in  mercantile  houses. 

87 


SALESWOMEN 

It  will  be  noted,  for  instance,  that  whereas  at 
the  time  of  greatest  variation,  the  fall  in  the  num- 
ber of  male  employes  (2245  to  201 1)  is  less  than 
12  per  cent,  the  fall  in  the  number  of  female  em- 


- 

450 

P 

4 

TOJ 

55 

1 
/ 
/ 
mmmt 

sa 
t 

i 
i 

/ 

x 

391C 

^«- 

t 
---' 

/ 

POffi 

3910 

2063 

2i 

? 

- 

2011 

DIAGRAM  D. — SEASONAL  VARIATIONS  IN  THE  NUMBERS  OF  MEN 
AND  WOMEN  EMPLOYES.  WOMEN,  DOTTED  LINE;  MEN,  SOLID 
LINE 

ploy es  ( 5  5  38  to  39 1  o)  is  about  36  per  cent ;  and  that 
whereas  there  are  but  two  points  of  change  in  the 
number  of  male  employes,  the  second  point  being 
almost  negligible,  the  number  of  female  employes 


SEASONS  OF  WORK  AND  CASUAL  LABOR 

frequently  changes  according  to  volume  of  business 
at  different  seasons  of  the  year. 

A  further  point  of  difference  between  the  terms 
on  which  men  and  women  are  employed  is  the 
employment  of  extra  hands.  The  figures  and 
percentages  given  in  preceding  tables  refer  solely 
to  employes  engaged  by  the  week.  It  is  cus- 
tomary, however,  in  many  stores,  to  engage,  in 
addition  to  the  weekly  employes,  extras,  salesmen 
and  saleswomen,  to  come  in  on  days  when  trade 
is  heaviest, — Mondays  and  market  days.*  They 
usually  are  given  aisle  counter  work,  as  this 
means  quicker  sales  and  requires  less  skill  in  selling 
than  does  the  work  at  the  main  counter.  A  few 
stores  pay  50  cents  t  on  weekdays  for  this  work  and 
75  cents  Saturdays,  but  the  usual  sum  paid  is 
$i  .00  a  day  for  three  days  out  of  the  week.  Extra 
salesmen  are  employed  only  in  two  small  stores 
and  in  one  large  store  which  has  an  important 
trade  in  men's  clothing.  Extra  saleswomen, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  employed  in  22  stores, 
large  and  small.  Table  12,  on  the  next  page,  shows 
the  numbers  of  extra  hands  and  per  cent  variation 
in  numbers  employed  at  different  seasons. 

The  generalization  that  women  rather  than 
men  are  employed  as  casual  laborers,  is  clearly 
true  of  both  weekly  employes  and  extra  hands. 
Whereas  there  is  slight  temporary  seasonal  in- 

*  Ten  stores  employ  extras  on  Saturdays  only,  5  stores  on  Mondays 
and  Saturdays,  and  a  few  stores  on  three  days  in  the  week. 

t  See  cases  of  Mrs.  Tessie  Schlueter  and  of  Helen  Johnson,  pages 
149  and  151. 

89 


SALESWOMEN 

crease  in  the  number  of  men  employed,  the  seasonal 
increase  in  the  number  of  women  employed  (casual 
laborers)  is  nearly  46  per  cent.  Both  men  and 
women,  among  extra  hands  as  among  weekly 
employes,  are  affected  also  by  temporary  seasonal 
unemployment.  It  is  of  interest  that  the  per- 
centage of  extra  hands  employed  for  special  days 


TABLE  12.— VARIATION  IN  NUMBER  OF  EXTRA  HANDS 
EMPLOYED  IN  25  BALTIMORE  STORES,  AND  PER 
CENT  VARIATION  FROM  NORMAL 


Grade 

Extra 
Men 

Per 

cent 
Varia- 
tion 

Extra 
Wo- 
men 

Per 

cent 
Varia- 
tion 

Total 

Per 
cent 
Varia- 
tion 

Maximum 

iq 

.0 

1  07 

45.03 

216 

40.26 

Normal 

10 

135 

I  54 

Minimum 

1  1 

42.1  I 

1  17 

n.34 

128 

16.89 

affected  by  seasonal  unemployment  is  considerably 
greater,  both  for  the  individual  groups  and  for  the 
totals,  than  the  percentage  of  weekly  hands 
affected  by  seasonal  unemployment. 

Easter  is  not  parallel  to  Christmas  in  volume 
of  trade,  but  it  brings  a  large  increase  to  five- 
and  ten-cent  stores  and  specialty  houses.  These 
latter  allow  no  holiday  to  pass  without  mark  of 
recognition,  whether  it  be  hatchet-shaped  candy 
boxes  on  February  22  or  fuzzy  rabbits  and  egg 
favors  on  the  approach  of  spring.  Each  holiday 
in  turn  is  also  celebrated  with  a  fresh  influx  of 
colored  post  cards,  which  climb  lattice-like  to  the 

90 


SEASONS  OF  WORK  AND  CASUAL  LABOR 

tops  of  show  windows,  displaying  their  atrocious 
crudities  to  full  advantage.  Along  Gay  Street, 
buying  is  so  much  increased  at  the  Easter  season 
that  several  stores  employ  a  few  extra  hands  at 
night.  For  the  most  part,  however,  while  some 
employes  are  transferred  to  holiday  departments, 
and  some  stand  their  ground  by  revolving  racks 
of  gaudy  cards,  the  extra  work,  like  a  bargain 
sale  or  any  other  dispensation  of  Providence, 
is  shouldered  solidly  by  the  regular  force. 

Seasons  in  suit  and  millinery  departments,  on 
the  contrary,  need  special  preparation.  Buying 
is  relatively  light  except  in  mid-fall  and  spring. 
The  selling  of  ready-made  garments  requires  more 
skill  and  experience  than  the  selling  of  goods  in 
other  departments.  It  follows,  then,  that  casuals 
cannot  be  employed  to  advantage,  and  that  to 
ensure  a  sufficient  force  in  busy  seasons,  more 
people  must  be  employed  in  of?  seasons  than  are 
actually  necessary  to  handle  the  trade.  This 
applies,  however,  only  to  the  fringe  of  the  busy 
season.  Custom  orders  a  long  vacation  for  cloak 
and  suit  saleswomen  during  the  summer. 

Yet  this  long  vacation  is  more  than  exceeded 
by  the  dull  season  of  the  alteration  hands.  While 
selling  cloaks  and  suits  requires  some  skill,  it 
would  seem  that  the  making  of  cloaks  and  suits 
does  not.  You  hear  from  the  manager  of  a  store 
that  "Our  people  do  fine  work;  we  make  it  worth 
their  while  to  stay  with  us."  But  one  finds  on 
further  inquiry  that  the  number  of  these  people 

91 


SALESWOMEN 

who  do  fine  work  is  capable  of  instant  expansion 
from  40  to  no,  and  of  equally  sudden  shrinkage 
when  the  rush  of  orders  has  been  partly  allayed. 
In  another  case,  the  number  of  women  working 
at  machines  with  piles  of  delicate  gowns  on  chairs 
beside  them  has  increased  in  a  week  from  24  to  80 
and  next  week  will  have  diminished  at  least  to  65. 
At  the  height  of  the  season,  for  a  week  or  two,  the 
total  number  of  alteration  hands  increases  30.4  per 
cent,  from  431  to  562.  In  January,  all  but  a  few 
in  each  store  will  be  discharged,  and  by  mid-June 
the  workrooms  will  be  almost  empty.  A  third  of 
the  stores  discharge  all  their  manufacturing  hands 
at  the  close  of  the  season.  The  remaining  ones 
lay  them  off  for  periods  ranging  from  three  weeks 
to  two  months. 

The  surprising  thing  about  this  situation,  how- 
ever, is,  not  that  work  should  be  dull  for  twenty 
weeks  out  of  the  year, — that  is  characteristic  of 
the  garment  trades, — but  that  sudden  and  irregular 
increases  of  work  can  be  met  by  correspondingly 
sudden  increases  in  the  number  of — presumably- 
competent  workers.  Alterations  are  not  usually 
so  simple  that  they  can  be  made  by  unskilled  hands. 
They  require  as  a  rule  a  person  with  experience 
in  dressmaking  or  tailoring,  and  often  with  experi- 
ence in  handling  a  power  machine.  When  suits 
of  good  material  are  altered,  careless  work  may 
spoil  or  seriously  damage  the  suit  and  cause  finan- 
cial loss  to  the  firm.  It  would  seem,  then,  that 
the  alteration  hands  in  mercantile  houses  must  be 

92 


SEASONS  OF  WORK  AND  CASUAL  LABOR 

in  a  measure  competent;  and  as  the  busy  season 
in  retail  dressmaking  establishments  is  the  same 
as  the  busy  season  in  the  retail  stores,  it  must  be 
assumed  that  those  who  are  employed  in  the  work- 
rooms of  the  latter  places  are  the  left-overs  who 
remain  after  the  demands  of  the  dressmaking 
establishments  have  been  met.  As  there  are 
apparently  enough  alteration  hands  to  supply 
the  needs  of  both  the  stores  and  the  dressmaking 
establishments,  one  is  forced  to  conclude  that  the 
number  of  semi-skilled  dressmakers  and  seam- 
stresses in  Baltimore  is  greater  than  the  market 
has  power  to  absorb;  that  disinclination  to  enter 
an  occupation  which  they  consider  socially  be- 
neath them  prevents  many  needlewomen  from 
seeking  steady  but  less  attractive  employment 
early  in  their  industrial  life;  and  that  physical 
unfitness  produced  by  years  of  sedentary  work 
tends  to  make  them  unable  to  keep  long-term 
positions  during  the  season,  or  by  fitting  together 
a  series  of  short-term  positions  to  be  in  any  real 
sense  self-supporting.  It  follows  that  many  of 
these  seamstresses,  when  unable  to  obtain  en- 
gagements for  private  sewing,  spend  their  time 
at  home  in  semi-dependence  upon  their  families. 
A  sixteen  weeks'  season  in  an  alteration  room 
would  tax  their  endurance,  but  they  welcome  the 
opportunity  to  do  one  week's  work  when  the 
season  is  at  the  full. 

In  this  connection,  mention  should  be  made  of 
the  extra  alteration  hands,  employed  by  certain 

93 


SALESWOMEN 

stores  on  Saturdays  to  finish  garments  on  the 
premises  so  that  their  customers  may  wear  them 
Sunday  morning.  These  employes,  while  not 
quite  in  the  same  class  with  casual  sales  people, 
yet  indicate  by  their  willingness  to  serve  at  irregu- 
lar times  the  extent  to  which  the  market  in  this 
occupation  is  over-supplied.  The  Saturday  night 
work  required  of  these  extra  hands  is  perhaps  more 
exacting  than  that  of  any  other  group  of  employes. 
In  districts  where  prompt  Sunday  morning  de- 
liveries are  a  matter  of  pride  with  the  mercantile 
houses,  the  alteration  hands  must  often  stay  later 
than  the  sales  force  to  finish  suits  that  have  been 
ordered  just  as  the  store  was  about  to  close. 

Some  stores,  of  course,  employ  neither  extra  nor 
casual  alteration  hands.  Yet  except  in  the  case 
of  a  few  which  have  worked  out  and  put  into 
practice  the  plan  of  a  stable  and  continuous  labor 
force,  mercantile  houses  as  a  whole  draw  on 
the  contingent  of  underemployed  seamstresses  for 
help  at  short  notice  during  the  busy  season. 

The  situation  in  millinery  workrooms  is  some- 
what different.  Seasons  are  shorter,  being  twenty- 
four  weeks  out  of  the  year,  and  at  the  same  time 
employes  have  some  opportunity  to  extend  their 
season  by  work  with  retail  and  wholesale  houses. 
From  mid-August  until  mid-November,  from  mid- 
March  until  mid-June,  the  retail  workrooms  offer 
continuous  employment  to  their  dozen  or  two 
skilled  milliners  and  to  their  scores  of  semi-skilled, 
inartistic  assistants.  They  rely  upon  the  head 

94 


SEASONS  OF  WORK  AND  CASUAL  LABOR 

milliner,  and  perhaps  upon  her  chief  helpers,  to 
keep  the  product  up  to  the  mark.  It  is  these 
responsible  ones  who  are  charged  with  planning 
the  work  and  with  giving  to  the  hands  under 
them  ideas  of  taste  and  style.  Milliners  who  are 
"born,  not  made,"  direct;  milliners  who  are 
"made"  by  two  seasons'  apprenticeship,  execute. 
The  former  have  often  fairly  continuous  employ- 
ment. To  them,  as  to  cloak  and  suit  saleswomen 
or  to  skilled  dressmakers,  comes  a  period  without 
work  in  mid-summer  and  early  in  the  year,  but 
by  many  of  the  retail  houses  they  are  retained  for 
ten  months  out  of  the  twelve. 

Yet  where  these  are  counted  by  tens,  the  un- 
skilled who  go  by  the  same  trade  name  are  counted 
by  hundreds.  The  high  salaries  paid  to  those  who 
are  capable  of  designing  draw  to  the  trade  troops 
of  young  apprentices  who  may  indeed  learn  to 
make  hats  with  their  hands,  but  never  with  their 
brains,  and  who  at  the  end  of  their  probation  find 
themselves  in  an  inferior  position  for  less  than  half 
the  year,  with  perhaps  a  few  private  commissions 
from  long-suffering  friends.  In  some  stores,  mil- 
liners of  this  class  are  retained  during  the  major 
part  of  the  winter  by  transfer  from  workroom  to 
selling  force.  This  can  best  be  done  in  December 
when  the  workroom  is  dull  and  the  demands  on 
saleswomen  are  heavy.  It  can  scarcely  be  done 
effectively  in  January,  for  all  departments  are 
dull  after  Christmas,  and  the  retention  of  the 
milliners  for  two  months  before  the  season  begins 

95 


SALESWOMEN 

must  depend  in  large  part  upon  the  policy  of 
the  millinery  buyer.  If  hats  are  bought  ready- 
trimmed  from  wholesale  houses,  and  workroom 
hands  used  solely  or  mainly  for  order  work,  they 
would  have  almost  no  occupation  between  seasons. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  ready-to-wear  hats  are 
trimmed  in  quantity  in  the  workroom,  the  hands 
may  be  employed  for  much  of  the  time  between 
seasons  without  loss. 

On  the  whole,  the  policy  of  the  stores  seems  to  be 
to  allow  the  less  skilled  milliners  to  go  at  the  close 
of  the  season.  While  a  few  stores  shorten  the 
period  of  unemployment  by  transferring  their 
hands,  most  of  them  are  apparently  content  to 
gather  in  hands  at  need  and  to  shut  down  the  work- 
rooms when  trade  becomes  dull.  To  this  gather- 
ing-in  process,  the  wholesale  houses  are  perforce 
allies.  Retail  millinery  establishments  customarily 
send  to  wholesale  houses  at  the  beginning  of  the 
season  for  trimmers  or  makers,  with  the  result  that 
wholesale  houses  during  the  first  few  weeks  must 
often  make  place  for  more  trimmers  than  they 
can  conveniently  use,  and  must  serve  as  clearing- 
houses for  people  who  want  positions  for  the  season 
and  for  merchants  who  need  hands  with  some 
experience.  It  is  thought,  also,  that  a  few  weeks 
with  a  wholesale  house  makes  the  milliner  more 
valuable  for  retail  work.  The  retail  establish- 
ment can  thus  secure  its  quota  of  employes  when 
the  season  begins,  and  if  the  demand  for  the  Easter 
trade  requires  it,  increase  this  quota  for  a  week  or 

96 


SEASONS    OF    WORK    AND    CASUAL    LABOR 

even  for  a  few  days  in  March.  The  total  increase 
in  mid-season  in  the  number  of  milliners  in  mer- 
cantile houses  is  from  172  to  211,  22.7  per  cent. 

VACATIONS  AND  ARBITRARY  DISCHARGE 
Unemployment  among  workroom  hands  is 
evident  from  the  seasonal  nature  of  their  work. 
Unemployment  among  sales  people  is  less  evident 
and  less  easily  measured.  Whereas  workroom 
hands  are  paid  so  much  per  day  for  a  stated  num- 
ber of  hours,  paid  as  a  rule  for  their  overtime, 
exempted  both  from  Christmas  exactions  and  from 
Christmas  gifts,  and  discharged  when  their  season 
ends,  sales  people  have  both  a  more  flexible  work- 
ing day  and,  presumably,  continuous  employment. 
Although  unquestionably  January  and  Febru- 
ary, July  and  August,  are  dull  months  in  the  stores, 
even  then  some  unexpected  event  may  cause  a 
revival  of  business,  and  the  normal  number  of 
employes  may  be  needed.  This  is  especially 
likely  to  happen  in  the  spring,  and  in  general  the 
stores  make  no  attempt  to  lower  expenses  then  by 
laying  of?  regular  employes.  Seven  Baltimore 
stores,  however,  employing  altogether  940  women, 
use  this  method  of  decreasing  the  payroll.  In 
these  seven  stores,  a  spring  "vacation"  is  required. 
Sometimes  each  employe  has  work  only  three  days 
a  week  for  two  weeks  after  Christmas;  sometimes 
each  is  required  to  take  a  week  in  January  without 
pay,  and  she  may  take  this  week  as  she  likes,  either 
all  at  once  or  in  sections;  sometimes  two  weeks  is 
7  97 


SALESWOMEN 

required  of  all  sales  people;  and  sometimes  the 
laying  off  process  is  carried  even  farther  by  tem- 
porary dismissal  of  half  the  hands  in  the  aisle  with 
the  assurance  that  they  will  be  sent  for  as  soon  as 
the  store  is  busy  again.  Where  a  distinction  is 
made  between  departments,  the  saleswomen  on 
the  second  floor — cloak  and  suit  saleswomen — are 
more  likely  than  others  to  have  a  spring  vacation, 
but  for  the  most  part  this  policy  of  intermittent 
employment,  when  in  force,  is  carried  out  im- 
partially, on  first  and  second  floors  alike. 

The  real  import  of  the  summer  vacation  is  more 
elusive.  Most  people  wish  a  summer  vacation, 
both  because  the  weather  is  hot  and  because  they 
are  tired.  They  wish  it  so  much,  they  feel  some 
change  so  essential,  that  rather  than  go  without  it 
they  will  take  the  vacation  at  their  own  expense. 
In  this,  as  a  rule,  their  families  second  them. 
While  some  may  feel  that  they  cannot  afford  to 
take  even  a  short  time  without  pay,  it  may  be 
assumed  that  the  majority,  in  Baltimore  at  least, 
can  and  do  afford  it.  This  reacts  in  two  ways  to 
the  advantage  of  employers.  It  diminishes  the 
payroll  during  the  summer,  and  increases  the 
physical  buoyancy  of  the  selling  force  in  the  fall. 

If  vacations  are  desirable  from  the  standpoint 
both  of  employes  and  of  employers,  and  if  they 
are  readily  taken  without  pay,  the  employer  might 
hold  it  unnecessary  to  pay  for  the  employes'  time 
during  such  a  period.  He  might  regard  such 
vacation,  even  without  pay,  as  in  the  nature  of  a 

98 


SEASONS    OF    WORK    AND   CASUAL    LABOR 

gift, — a  reward  for  long-term  service  or  an  insur- 
ance against  ill  health  among  those  who  would  not 
themselves  take  the  time  off  in  summer.  This 
would  imply  a  relatively  stable  force  of  employes. 
Without  such  a  stable  force,  there  are  many  stores 
to  which  this  idea  of  giving  a  vacation  does  not 
appeal.  Their  employes  wish  a  vacation  and  take 
one;  should  they  not,  and  should  their  efficiency 
be  decreased  in  consequence,  others  are  at  hand 
to  take  their  places. 

The  store  which  gives  two  weeks'  vacation  with 
pay,  and  the  two  stores  which  give  one  week's 
vacation  with  pay  to  their  entire  selling  force, 
view  the  matter  differently.  They  recognize 
stability  and  health  among  their  people  as  com- 
mercial assets,  chargeable  to  the  business,  not  to 
the  employes.  With  them  should  be  classed  also 
10  stores  which  give  a  week's  vacation  with  pay 
to  all  who  have  been  in  their  employment  a  year. 
The  two  stores  which  give  vacations  with  pay  only 
to  employes  who  have  been  with  the  house  two 
years  must  do  this  as  reward  for  long-term  service 
rather  than  as  an  insurance  against  ill  health. 
Altogether,  16  stores  give  vacations  with  pay  to 
at  least  some  of  their  employes. 

Where  vacations  with  pay  are  given  only  for 
long-term  service,  or  where  they  are  not  given  at 
all,  as  in  18  stores,  the  attitude  of  the  management 
is  not  always  clear.  In  such  cases,  are  all  employes 
required  to  take  vacations  at  their  own  expense  in 
summer,  or  are  they  not?  When  a  vacation  is  so 

99 


SALESWOMEN 

evidently  desirable  to  all  concerned,  from  whom 
do  the  suggestion  and  the  pressure  come,  or  is 
the  arrangement  of  the  incidence  and  length  of 
the  vacation  period  a  matter  of  mutual  agreement? 
Although  most  of  the  employes  may  be  able  to 
afford  a  vacation,  it  is  hardly  to  be  assumed  that 
they  all  are  able  to  afford  it.  The  policy  of  the 
management  with  regard  to  employes  who  cannot 
afford  to  take  time  away  from  work  would  be 
interesting  to  know. 

On  these  points  testimony  differs.  Eight  stores 
employing  885  women,  require  all  employes  to 
take  from  two  to  four  or  more  weeks  in  summer 
without  pay.  No  exceptions  are  made.  This  is 
frankly  a  matter  of  selling  cost  and  weekly  profits; 
the  payroll  must  be  reduced  to  a  point  propor- 
tionate to  the  volume  of  business.  In  the  ten 
other  stores  which  give  no  vacations  with  pay,  on 
the  contrary,  and  in  the  three  stores  which  give 
vacations  only  after  long-term  service,  vacations 
are  professedly  not  required.  The  policy  of  the 
firms  is  to  leave  employes  free  to  take  time  off, 
but  not  to  insist  upon  it.  Just  at  this  point  it 
sometimes  happens  that  the  policy  of  a  department 
buyer  may  differ  from  the  policy  of  his  firm.  The 
buyer  feels  responsible  for  the  proportion  which 
outgo  bears  to  income  in  his  department,  and  he 
individually  may  use  the  summer  custom  of  vaca- 
tions to  force  down  expenditure  for  wages.  For 
this  reason,  it  occurs  not  infrequently  that  mil- 
linery saleswomen,  for  example,  may  have  no 

100 


SEASONS    OF    WORK    AND    CASUAL    LnBOR 

option  as  to  their  vacations,  while  their  neighbors 
who  sell  ready-made  waists  may  have  full  privilege 
to  go  or  to  stay  as  they  choose.  The  management 
in  both  cases  may  be  equally  sincere.  The  man- 
agement, however,  assumes  that  employes  wish 
vacations,  and  cannot  inquire  particularly  as  to 
the  degree  of  volition  in  each  case. 

Such  an  instance  as  the  following  illustrates  the 
situation.  The  policy  of  a  certain  store  is  not  to 
insist  that  employes  take  vacations.  The  head 
of  the  auditing  department  early  in  June  asked  his 
girls  to  arrange  with  him  so  that  each  one  should 
have  two  weeks  off.  One  girl  who  felt  that  she 
could  not  afford  to  take  the  time  and  who  had  the 
courage  to  say  so,  asked  to  be  allowed  to  stay. 
She  was  told  that  the  department  could  not  afford 
to  keep  her  all  summer,  and  that  if  she  wanted  to 
stay,  she  would  have  to  carry  her  case  to  the  super- 
intendent. She  was  much  afraid  of  the  superin- 
tendent, and  was  also  a  very  young  girl.  She 
accepted  the  refusal  as  final,  and  took  her  vacation 
with  the  rest. 

Now  in  such  a  case,  does  the  store  require  a 
vacation,  or  does  it  not?  The  sincerity  of  the 
management  of  this  particular  store  admits  of  no 
question,  but  this  "sincerity"  as  interpreted  by 
the  heads  of  departments,  whose  object  is  to  keep 
their  expenses  under  a  certain  sum,  produces  no 
different  effect  on  employes  than  would  an  ar- 
bitrary two  weeks'  dismissal.  The  girls  wish  a 
vacation;  they  would  be  ashamed  to  have  their 

101 


SALESWOMEN 

co-workers  know  that  they  had  not  taken  a  vaca- 
tion ;  they  feel  that  they  are  obliged  to  take  one. 
It  would  seem  that  in  most  stores,  quite  apart  from 
active  pressure  by  the  management,  and  some- 
times directly  contrary  to  its  expressed  policy, 
vacations  are  required. 

Arbitrary  discharge  of  unneeded  employes  in 
dull  seasons  occurs  in  five  Baltimore  stores.  This 
plan  can,  of  course,  be  put  into  practice  only  on  the 
assumption  that  the  work  of  salesmen  and  sales- 
women is  casual  in  the  extreme,  and  that  the 
number  of  positions  can  be  shrunk  or  expanded 
indefinitely  as  business  warrants.  Employes  are 
then  discharged  immediately  as  the  volume  of 
trade  falls  and  are  given  no  hope  of  later  re-employ- 
ment. They  are  free  to  seek  new  positions  or  to 
remain  at  home.  For  instance,  a  girl  was  em- 
ployed at  $7.50  a  week,  as  a  piano  player  in  the 
music  department  of  a  certain  store.  She  was 
discharged  the  first  of  December  and  her  place 
filled  by  a  young  girl  at  $3.00  a  week.  The  young 
girl  was  continued  in  the  place  until  the  end  of 
January,  when  her  work  having  proved  unsatis- 
factory and  no  experienced  person  at  a  lower 
salary  being  obtainable,  the  former  piano  player, 
who  had  been  out  of  work  in  the  interval,  was  re- 
engaged. In  another  case,  an  experienced  sales- 
woman who  had  been  employed  at  $6.00  a  week 
in  the  neckwear  department,  was  dismissed  in 
December,  her  place  being  filled  by  an  untrained 
girl  at  $2.50.  After  Christmas,  the  latter  also  was 

102 


SEASONS  OF  WORK  AND  CASUAL  LABOR 

dismissed,  and  the  place  given  at  $4.00  a  week  to 
a  third  girl  who  had  had  some  experience  in  this 
work  at  another  store.  These  instances,  however, 
illustrate  the  general  policy  of  a  few  stores  only. 
Arbitrary  discharge  in  dull  seasons  is  the  extreme 
indication  of  casual  employment.  Intermittent 
employment  in  summer  is  several  paces  away  from 
it,  and  at  the  other  pole  is  the  policy  of  giving 
vacations  with  pay  which  implies  stable  labor  force. 


103 


CHAPTER  VI  I 
WAGES  OF  WOMEN  EMPLOYES 

WAGES  in  the  mercantile  industry  are 
never  complicated  by  piece-rates.  Fluc- 
tuation in  earnings  according  to  volume 
of  business  is  frequent  in  factory  trades  but  wages 
in  mercantile  houses  are  paid  by  time.  The  rate 
of  wages, — for  wrappers,  for  stock  girls,  for  altera- 
tion hands,  for  first  floor  saleswomen,  for  sales- 
women of  cloaks  and  suits, — is  unaffected  by 
seasonal  variation,  and  tends  in  each  occupational 
group  toward  a  fixed  point,  not  in  one  store  only, 
but  in  all  stores  which  approximate  one  grade. 

Under  such  circumstances,  then,  a  study  of 
wages  must  aim  to  discover  not  simply  the  earn- 
ings of  different  individuals,  but  the  conditions  of 
the  market,  the  rate  of  wages  for  given  occupa- 
tions. The  wage  figures  which  are  the  basis  of 
this  chapter  have  been  obtained  in  part  through 
examination  of  payrolls,  in  part  through  state- 
ments of  officials,  confirmed  or  modified  by  the 
testimony  of  employes.  No  payrolls  have  been 
tabulated.  We  have,  however,  succeeded  in  learn- 
ing the  prevailing  rate  for  each  occupational 
group  in  each  store,  and  the  maximum  and  mini- 

104 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

mum  points  within  which  the  rate  for  a  particular 
group  may  vary.  Building  on  this,  through  care- 
ful comparison  of  testimony,  we  have  calculated 
the  number  of  persons  in  stated  wage  groups  both 
in  individual  stores  and  in  the  industry  as  a  whole. 

Wages  of  ''apprentice  hands/'  in  the  workrooms 
or  on  the  floors,  of  course  rank  lowest.  Cash 
girls  earn  from  $1.50  to  $3.00,  50  per  cent  of  them 
being  paid  a  flat  rate  of  $2.00  per  week.  Indeed, 
of  the  1 1  stores  which  employ  cash  girls,  five  have 
one  rate  of  pay  for  all  employes  in  this  group,  and 
advance  wages  only  when  employes  are  given  a 
different  occupation.  The  maximum  increase  for 
cash  girls  in  the  six  stores  which  advance  wages 
within  this  occupational  group  is  50  cents  a  week. 

Five  stores  pay  a  flat  rate  to  stock  girls  also, 
the  lowest  being  $2.00  and  the  highest  (given  to 
one  person  only)  $3.50.  As  none  of  these  five 
stores  employ  cash  girls,  the  rate  paid  to  stock 
girls  may  be  regarded  as  an  initial  flat  rate  for 
inexperienced  employes.  Nine  stores  raise  the 
wages  of  their  stock  girls  within  this  group,  the 
range  of  wages  being  much  greater  than  in  the  case 
of  cash  girls.  The  reason  for  this  is,  of  course, 
that  stock  work  varies  considerably  in  importance. 
In  some  cases,  it  is  the  merest  running  of  errands 
and  carrying  of  boxes, — the  serving  as  hands  and 
feet  for  people  who  are  too  busy  to  leave  their 
departments.  In  other  cases,  it  means  memoriz- 
ing the  stock,  taking  care  of  it,  keeping  it  in  order, 
the  importance  of  this  work  varying  with  depart- 

105 


SALESWOMEN 

ment  and  class  of  goods.  In  two  stores  of  the 
nine,  an  advance  of  50  cents  is  given  to  stock 
girls;  in  six  stores  they  may  be  advanced  $1.00 
more  per  week,  and  in  one  store  the  possible  in- 
crease is  $2.50  per  week.  This  latter  store  employs 
stock  girls  in  its  cloak  and  suit  department,  where 
stock  boys  are  more  usually  employed,  and  pays 
the  higher  wage  for  heavier  work  and  also  for 
occasional  assistance  in  selling.  The  total  range 
of  wages  for  stock  girls  is  from  $2.00  to  $4.50  per 
week,  the  largest  number  in  any  one  wage  group 
being  paid  $2.50,  and  a  majority  from  $2.50  to 
$3.00. 

Wrapper  girls  are  employed  in  15  stores.  In 
this  occupation  the  flat  rate  is  less  frequent.  Five 
stores  pay  a  flat  rate  to  wrappers,  but  in  three  of 
them  only  one  wrapper  girl  is  employed.  Another 
store  pays  wrapper  girls  $2.75,  three  others  pay 
$2.50,  and  another  $3.00  per  week.  Ten  stores 
increase  the  wages  of  wrappers.  Although  the 
total  range  of  wages — from  $2.00  to  $5.00 — is 
greater  than  in  either  of  the  preceding  occupations, 
the  maximum  range  of  wages  in  any  one  establish- 
ment is  less  than  in  the  case  of  stock  girls.  Six 
stores  give  an  increase  of  50  cents  per  week  to 
wrapper  girls,  two  stores  an  increase  of  $1.00,  and 
two  other  stores  an  increase  of  $2.00.  The  largest 
number  of  wrapper  girls  in  any  one  wage  group  is 
paid  $2.50  per  week,  the  majority  earning  from 
$2.50  to  $3.00. 

Sometimes,  where  no  girls  are  employed  ex- 
106 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

clusively  for  wrapping  parcels,  the  cashiers  act  as 
wrappers.  This  joint  duty  usually  implies  not 
the  payment  of  higher  wages,  but  of  wages  con- 
siderably lower  than  those  in  stores  where  the 
duties  of  cashiers  are  wholly  clerical.  The  cashier- 
wrapper  is  really  an  apprentice  who  operates  a 
cash  register  and  has  no  clerical  work  at  all.  Of 
the  284  cashiers,  112  operate  cash  registers  at 
wages  ranging  from  $2.00  to  $4.50  per  week,  the 
majority  earning  $3.00.  Where  the  low  line  cable 
system  or  the  pneumatic  tube  system  is  used,  the 
rate  of  wages  is  higher.  Two  stores  have  a  be- 
ginning wage  of  $3.00  for  such  cashiers,  but  the 
majority  start  at  $4.00,  with  possible  advances  to 
$6.00,  $7.00,  and  $9.00  for  head  cashiers.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  small  group  of  cashiers  who  act 
as  bookkeepers  in  the  offices.  The  majority  of 
cashiers,  if  we  consider  them  one  group,  are  earning 
from  $3.00  to  $3.50  a  week,  the  largest  number  in 
any  one  wage  group  earning  $3.50.  This  indicates 
that  although  the  number  of  cashiers  operating 
cable  and  tube  systems  is  slightly  greater  than  the 
number  operating  cash  registers,  the  proportion  of 
relatively  well-paid  hands  in  the  former  case  is  not 
heavy  enough  materially  to  raise  the  percentage 
in  the  higher  wage  groups. 

In  the  workrooms,  especially  among  alteration 
and  drapery  hands,  wages  are  stereotyped.  The 
market  price  for  running  a  sewing  machine,  under 
direction,  is  $1.00  a  day.  Beginners  are  paid 
$4.00  and  sometimes  $5.00  a  week.  When  an 

107 


SALESWOMEN 

operator  reaches  $6.00  she  is  not  likely  to  be  ad- 
vanced further.  Seven  stores,  however,  out  of  the 
21  which  employ  alteration  hands,  pay  $7.00  a 
week  to  some  workroom  hands,  and  six  stores 
pay  a  few  $8.00  but  the  $6.00  rate  holds  for  65 
per  cent  of  the  hands. 

The  wages  of  milliners  are  more  varied.  Some 
are  paid  nothing  at  all.  These  are  apprentices 
in  their  first  season,  learning  their  trade  and  think- 
ing themselves  fortunate  to  have  a  seat  at  the 
table  where  "creations"  are  in  process  of  produc- 
tion. Some — by  way  of  encouragement — are  paid 
$1.00  to  $1.50  a  week.  A  few  are  paid  $2.50  and 
$3.00;  many  are  paid  $4.00;  but  the  largest 
number  are  in  the  $5.00  wage  group.  A  few  may 
be  found  earning  $6.00,  $7.00,  $8.00  and  $9.00. 
The  wages  of  head  milliners  range,  according  to 
district  and  capacity,  from  $10  a  week  to  $25. 
Of  the  172  milliners  employed  in  retail  department 
stores,  not  more  than  eight  earn  this  highest  rate. 

The  wages  of  saleswomen,  however,  best  indi- 
cate what  opportunity  the  mercantile  industry 
offers.  Saleswomen  are  not  only  far  in  the  ma- 
jority as  to  numbers,  but  as  the  occupational  group 
most  characteristic  of  the  industry  they  are  at 
the  goal  toward  which  tend  cash  girls  and  wrap- 
per girls,  stock  girls  and  wrapper-cashiers.  They 
represent  the  merchant  to  his  customers.  They 
may  render  ineffective  a  good  stock  and  an  other- 
wise well-planned  store  by  spoiling  sales,  or  on  the 
other  hand,  by  studying  their  customers  they  may 

1 08 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

increase  trade  even  when  hampered  by  relatively 
ill-selected  stock.  On  the  first  floor,  many  of 
them  are  little  more  than  apprentices.  They 
may  be  put  at  selling  hairpins  or  down  in  the  base- 
ment selling  nails,  but  meanwhile  they  are  learning 
the  ways  of  the  store  and  incidentals  about  sales 
checks  and  indexes  and  weekly  totals.  In  three 
stores,  beginners  are  paid  $2.00  a  week.  Ordina- 
rily, however,  $2.50,  $3.00,  or  $3. 50,  is  the  beginning 
wage,  and  in  10  stores  no  saleswoman  is  paid  less 
than  $4.00.  Four  dollars  or  $5.00,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  the  maximum  for  some  stores.  If  a  girl 
reaches  this  point,  and  wishes  to  earn  more,  she 
must  go  elsewhere.  Six  dollars  or  $7.00  is  usually 
the  highest  wage  paid  to  saleswomen  in  quick- 
selling  departments,  but  cloak  and  suit  sales- 
women, and  sometimes  saleswomen  in  laces,  earn 
considerably  more. 

Approximately  150  cloak  and  suit  saleswomen 
are  employed  in  Baltimore  retail  stores.  They 
have  what  might  be  regarded  as  a  separate  trade, 
a  trade  for  which  experience  in  other  parts  of  the 
store  is  insufficient.  The  stock  girl  in  a  cloak  and 
suit  house  is,  in  a  sense,  an  apprentice  for  selling 
goods  of  this  sort  and  is  in  line  for  promotion. 
She  sees  how  garments  are  put  on,  she  hears  how 
they  are  described  and  commented  upon,  and  she 
observes  that  greater  assertion  and  self-confidence 
are  required  here  than  in  many  other  departments. 
Such  preliminary  experience  is  almost  essential, 
for  the  harm  that  may  be  done  by  an  inexperienced 

109 


SALESWOMEN 

hand  is  usually  too  great  to  be  risked.  These 
cloak  and  suit  saleswomen,  6  per  cent  of  the  whole 
number  of  saleswomen,  are  paid  as  a  minimum 
what  would  be  the  maximum  in  other  departments. 
Starting  at  $6.00  or  $7.00,  they  are  advanced  to 
$8.00,  $10,  $14,  and  in  a  few  cases  $18  per  week. 
The  majority  earn  $10  or  $i  i. 

For  the  entire  group  of  saleswomen,  the  range 
of  wages  is  from  $2.00  a  week  to  $18.  The  largest 
number  in  any  one  wage  group  earn  $6.00  a  week. 
A  majority  earn  $5.00  to  $6.00  a  week,  and  there 
are  twice  as  many  earning  less  than  $5.00  as  there 
are  earning  more  than  $6.00. 

Among  heads  of  stock  or  assistant  buyers,  who 
are  saleswomen,  too,  the  range  of  wages  is  almost 
as  great.  The  minimum  is  $3.50.  In  the  $5.00 
and  $6.00  wage  groups  numbers  are  larger,  and 
in  the  $7.00  wage  group  is  the  greatest  number  of 
individuals.  Beyond  this  point,  the  number  in 
each  wage  group  drops  steadily  and  abruptly. 
Three  heads  of  stock  earn  $18  a  week  and  one  earns 
$25,  which  may  be  taken  as  the  limit  to  advance- 
ment for  the  selling  force  in  Baltimore  stores. 

No  summary  has  been  made  of  the  wages  of 
buyers.  Here  we  are  confronted  so  constantly 
with  the  need  for  definition,  for  classification  into 
sub-groups,  of  buyers  with  and  without  sole 
responsibility;  buyers  in  charge  of  one  important 
department  and  buyers  in  charge  of  three  impor- 
tant departments;  or  on  the  other  hand,  buyers 
whose  departments  are  unimportant;  that  it 

no 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

would  be  unfair  to  group  together  the  wages  paid 
as  if  the  occupations  were  similar.  Some  women 
who  call  themselves  buyers  earn  $8.00  a  week; 
some  who  are  called  buyers  and  who  do  actually 
buy, — buttons  and  hairpins,  perhaps,  from  city 
salesmen, — are  paid  $10  and  $12.  Others,  who 
buy  extensively  in  this  country  and  abroad,  may  be 
paid  $100.  So  far  as  a  general  statement  can  be 
made,  however,  where  occupations  are  so  varied, 
the  range  of  wages  for  women  buyers  is  from 
$i  5  to  $35  a  week,  the  majority  being  paid  $20. 

SYSTEM  OF  PAYMENT 

These  statements  about  wages  assume  a  com- 
mon system  of  payment.  Such  a  system,  the 
paying  of  a  stated  and  unmodified  weekly  sum, 
does  as  a  matter  of  fact  obtain  in  30  stores.  They 
have  fixed  maximums  and  minimums  for  occupa- 
tions and  departments.  They  estimate  that  the 
total  wages  paid  to  the  selling  force  in  a  depart- 
ment should  not  exceed  5  per  cent  of  the  total  sales ; 
and  additions  to  the  force  or  increases  in  wages  are 
planned  accordingly.  Exceptions  of  course  are 
made.  Some  stores,  far  from  holding  to  the  prin- 
ciple that  a  department  earns  a  certain  percentage 
of  what  it  sells,  carry  on  a  sort  of  guerilla  war- 
fare against  the  payroll,  displacing  old  employes 
by  new  and  low-paid  employes,  and  so  far  as  they 
can,  holding  all  departments  to  a  common  mini- 
mum. On  the  other  hand,  some  stores  make  a 
point  of  advancing  employes  for  length  of  service 

in 


SALESWOMEN 

even  though  the  economics  of  the  department 
does  not  warrant  it.  On  the  whole,  however,  the 
fixed  maximum  and  minimum  rate  holds  true. 

Four  stores  have  a  different  system,  either 
throughout  the  store  or  in  a  few  departments  only. 
They  pay  a  commission  or  percentage  in  addition 
to  weekly  wages.  In  one  case,  one-half  of  i  per 
cent  on  their  sales  is  paid  to  all  senior  sales- 
women; in  another  case,  one-half  of  i  per  cent  is 
paid  on  sales  in  the  tinware  department  only.  A 
third  store  pays  one-half  of  i  per  cent  to  all  who 
have  $100  or  more  on  their  books  at  the  end  of  the 
week, — "And  all  the  time  I  was  there,  I  only  got 
a  hundred  dollars  on  my  book  just  once,  in  Christ- 
mas week,"  said  a  first  floor  girl.  In  one  store, 
however,  the  percentage  affects  not  one  depart- 
ment or  one  group  only,  but  the  entire  selling 
force.  All  employes  after  six  months  with  the 
house  are  put  on  a  percentage  basis.  They  earn, 
in  addition  to  their  weekly  wages,  i  per  cent  on 
their  sales.  Wages  are  adjusted,  however,  so 
that  saleswomen  do  not  total  more  than  the  pre- 
vailing rate  of  wages,  and  they  frequently  earn 
less.  The  range  of  base  wages  is  from  $3.00  to 
$5.00,  a  majority  earning  $3.50,  and  increases  being 
infrequent.  Such  increases  as  are  gained  must  be 
by  the  percentage.  Length  of  service  makes  no 
difference.  For  instance,  one  girl  who  has  been 
fourteen  years  with  this  store  and  is  head  of  stock 
in  notions,  leather  goods  and  toilet  articles,  is  paid 
$5.50  a  week.  The  commission  acts  as  a  spur  to 

112 


SALESWOMEN 

the  sales  force,  but  it  does  not  raise  wages  beyond 
the  prevailing  rate.  For  this  reason,  this  store 
and  the  others  which  pay  a  percentage,  have  been 
considered  together  with  those  which  do  not  pay 
a  percentage,  in  discussion  of  rates  of  wages. 

WAGES  AND  THE  COST  OF  LIVING 
Of  4048  women  in  different  wage  groups,  it  is 
of  interest  that  2184,  or  54  per  cent,  are  earning 
$5.00  or  less,  and  that  3266,  or  81  per  cent,  are 
earning  $6.00  or  less.  There  are  658  women  in 
the  $7.00  to  $i  i  group,  and  124  women  are  earn- 
ing $n  to  $2 5.*  The  wages  charted  (see  next  page) 
show  still  more  clearly  the  point  beyond  which 
most  of  the  employes  do  not  go. 

The  longest  lines,  which  represent  the  larger 
groups  of  women,  appear  opposite  the  lower  wage 
groups.  After  the  $6.00-^7.00  wage  group,  the 
lines  are  abruptly  shortened,  with  almost  contin- 
uous decreases  to  the  minimum  point. 

The  significance  of  this  wage  grouping  can  be 
apparent  only  when  considered  with  reference  to 
the  cost  of  living  in  Baltimore.  The  term  "cost 
of  living"  is  vague;  usage  has  extended  its  mean- 
ing to  cover  everything  from  the  "subsistence 
level"  to  the  amount  necessary  for  maintaining  a 
relatively  high  standard  of  life.  As  used  in  this 
connection,  it  means  the  sum  necessary  in  Balti- 

*  These  percentages  are  calculated  from  the  wages  of  4048  women, 
including  cash  girls,  stock  and  wrapper  girls,  cashiers,  sales  girls, 
heads  of  stock,  milliners,  alteration  hands,  and  drapery  operators. 
No  buyers,  unspecified  clerical  help,  kitchen  or  laundry  hands  are 
included. 

8  ,,3 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 


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114 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

more  to  provide  for  an  individual,  lodging  and 
sufficient  food,  clothing,  carfare  to  and  from  work, 
and  a  small  margin  for  sundries  such  as  medicine, 
dentistry,  or  on  the  other  hand,  healthful  recrea- 
tion. This  definition,  too,  leaves  room  for  vari- 
ance of  opinion.  Just  what  food  is  sufficient,  just 
how  much  and  what  kind  of  clothing  is  needed, 
are  matters  upon  which  no  two  individuals  will 
agree.  Some  will  think  that  carfare  is  an  un- 
necessary expense  and  that  in  a  small  city  people 
should  walk  to  their  work.  Others  will  consider 
any  allowance  for  recreation  an  extravagance. 

The  cost  of  board  at  its  minimum  must,  in 
general,  be  taken  to  represent  the  cost  of  obtaining 
lodging  and  sufficient  food;  as  to  details  the  con- 
sensus of  opinion  of  those  who  have  lived  near  the 
margin  can  be  the  only  criterion.  A  tentative 
schedule  for  Baltimore  might  be  as  follows: 
Board  and  lodging,  $3.00;  clothing,  $2.00;  wash- 
ing, $.50;  carfare,  $.60;  lunches,  $.60.  Total, 
$6.70.  Boarding  homes  for  working  women  are 
few.  It  is  not  customary  for  women  to  take  un- 
furnished rooms  and  prepare  their  own  meals. 
Instead,  they  take  a  room  and  their  meals  with 
some  family,  and  the  rate  in  families  seldom  falls 
below  $3.00  a  week. 

Two  dollars  a  week  for  clothing  is  $100  a  year. 
This  may  seem  large,  but  we  cannot  estimate  as 
though  the  sum  were  in  hand  and  the  possessor  a 
competent  seamstress.  Were  these  two  things 
assured,  were  our  workingwoman  compact  of  fore- 


SALESWOMEN 

thought,  self-restraint,  good  management  and 
efficiency,  she  might  even  manage  to  have  her 
allowance  for  clothing  yield  her  a  surplus.  But 
she  is  mediocre  human  material  for  the  most  part, 
neither  very  clever  nor  very  competent  nor  fore- 
sighted  for  the  next  season's  wants.  Without  a 
first  nugget,  the  saving  of  small  sums  is  difficult. 
From  week  to  week,  board  and  lodging,  carfare 
and  sundries,  eat  into  the  tiny  capital  and  prevent 
continuous  accumulation  of  a  portion  of  it.  The 
need  of  today  looms  larger  than  that  of  six  months 
from  now,  and  $2.00  a  week,  if  it  covers  this  week's 
and  this  season's  needs,  is  doing  well.  This  im- 
plies the  buying  of  ready-made  clothing,  the  buying 
of  some  things  by  instalments, — an  expensive  way, 
but  apparently  inevitable  at  times  when  no  capital 
is  at  hand.  The  ordinary  working  girl,  as  has 
been  said,  is  not  a  seamstress  any  more  than  she  is 
a  capable  executive.  She  neither  knows  how  to 
sew  nor  wants  to  spend  time  sewing.  Her  leisure 
is  precious,  her  weariness  extreme,  and  it  is  easier 
to  buy  things.  What  she  could  save  in  money 
(not  to  estimate  what  she  would  lose  in  buoyancy) 
if  she  made  her  own  clothing,  therefore,  cannot 
modify  her  present  budget.  The  facts  must  be 
recognized  that  she  does  not,  as  a  rule,  make  her 
clothing,  nor  does  she  spend  her  annual  allowance 
for  clothing  as  a  lump  sum. 

That  some  money  should  be  spent  for  sundries 
is  no  less  essential  than  that  some  money  should 
be  spent  for  food.  This  item,  however,  marks  the 

116 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

difference  between  this  budget  and  a  budget  based 
actually  upon  the  cost  of  living  at  the  subsistence 
level.  In  the  latter  case,  beyond  food  and  lodging 
and  carfare  there  could  be  no  leeway.  There 
could  be  no  doctor's  bills,  no  medicine,  there  could 
be  no  postage  stamps  and  no  carfare  except  to  and 
from  work;  above  all,  there  could  be  no  recreation. 
Life  would  be  without  social  content.  This  is  the 
program  for  home  workers  in  sweated  industries. 
Can  it  conceivably  or  desirably  be  the  program  for 
a  young  girl  at  the  beginning  of  her  life?  We 
should  welcome  a  generation  of  such  vigor  and 
admirable  self-control  that  expenditure  for  illness 
would  be  unnecessary,  but  that  generation  has  not 
yet  been  born  in  this  age  of  the  world.  We  would 
not,  however,  seek  so  to  limit  the  lives  of  the 
workers  as  to  eliminate  recreation.  Were  we  to 
attempt  it,  we  should  be  attacking  both  health  and 
efficiency.  The  desire  for  recreation  is  as  funda- 
mental as  the  necessity  of  work  and  the  desire  for 
food.  A  budget  which  in  any  measure  provides 
for  a  sane  and  useful  existence  must  admit  some 
expenditures  other  than  those  essential  for  the 
mechanical  maintenance  of  physical  life. 

Admitting  these  premises,  we  may  assume  that 
$6.70*  represents  the  minimum  cost  of  living  for 

*  1 1  may  be  said  that  when  a  woman  lives  with  her  family,  the  cost 
of  her  maintenance  is  less  than  this  amount.  It  may  apparently  be 
less,  because  the  relation  between  cost  of  living  and  expenditure  is 
obscured,  but  the  amount  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  the  indi- 
vidual remains  the  same.  Although  the  workingwoman  may  be 
personally  comfortable,  the  reason  for  this  is  not  that  under  the  cir- 
cumstances her  wages  are  adequate,  but  that  what  she  would  other- 

117 


SALESWOMEN 

a  workingwoman  in  Baltimore.  We  know  that 
some  workingwomen  live  on  less;  we  know  too 
that  more  could  live  on  less  if  they  had  more  skill 
in  doing  things  for  themselves  or  clearer  ideas  of 
economy.  Yet  we  cannot  assume  the  possession 
of  such  skill  and  such  economy,  and  without  them 
this  estimate  approximates  the  minimum  cost  of 
living.  Referring  to  page  113,  we  find  that  81 
per  cent  of  the  women  employes  in  Baltimore 
stores  are  earning  less  than  this  minimum  living 
cost,  that  19  per  cent  are  earning  more.  For  an 
industry  so  important  among  those  that  employ 
women,  an  industry  so  popular  among  women 
workers  that  it  sometimes  creates  a  shortage  in 
factory  districts,  opportunity  for  advancement 
seems  meager.  1 1  may  be  suggested  that  this  8 1  per 
cent  are  apprentices  and  the  19  per  cent  represent 
those  who  have  learned  their  trade.  Yet,  judging 
from  trades  in  which  there  is  a  regular  apprentice- 
ship system,  this  seems  improbable.*  If  appren- 

wise  lack  is  supplied  through  the  family  income.  Whether  a  work- 
ingwoman is  partly  supported  or  is  wholly  self-supporting,  whether 
her  income  is  wholly  derived  from  her  industrial  occupation  or  in 
part  from  other  sources,  the  basic  amount  necessary  for  her  main- 
tenance remains  unchanged. 

*  Some  unions  allow  one  apprentice  to  10  journeymen.  Others 
may  allow  one  to  eight,  or  one  to  five.  In  millinery  establishments, 
the  usual  proportion  is  one  to  12.  There  can  be  no  question  in  these 
cases  of  the  preponderance  of  trained  and  experienced  hands.  In 
fact,  as  skilled  workers  are  chosen  from  the  apprentice  class,  it  would 
seem  axiomatic  that  in  order  to  allow  for  progress  from  one  group  to 
the  other  the  number  of  apprentices  must  be  limited  to  the  number  of 
probable  vacancies  in  the  group  of  skilled  workers;  in  other  words, 
supply  must  be  adjusted  to  demand.  This  would  imply  that  the 
number  of  apprentices  could  be  but  a  fractional  part  of  the  number  of 
skilled  workers. 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

tices  should  considerably  outnumber  the  skilled 
workers,  the  technical  relation  between  the  two 
groups  would  be  disturbed,  progress  from  one 
group  to  the  other  largely  blocked,  and  the  ap- 
prentices become  a  subsidiary  industrial  class. 

The  8 1  per  cent  must,  therefore,  be  a  group  of 
unskilled  workers.  Yet  because  they  are  un- 
skilled workers,  it  is  not  apparent  why  they  are 
paid  less  than  the  cost  of  living,  nor  why  54  per 
cent  are  paid  less  than  the  cost  of  board  and 
clothes.  A  primary  economic  law  requires  that 
the  minimum  wage  of  labor  must  approximate  the 
minimum  cost  of  living.  The  laborer  must,  in 
other  words,  receive  in  wages  an  amount  sufficient 
to  enable  him  to  be  self-sustaining,  even  as  the 
other  factors  in  production  are  self-sustaining. 
Should  any  portion  of  the  labor  group  not  receive 
such  a  wage,  it  must  gain  its  marginal  sustenance 
from  one  of  the  other  groups  which  figure  in  pro- 
duction, or  from  some  other  portion  of  the  labor 
group;  that  is,  it  must  become  parasitic. 

That  8 1  per  cent  of  the  women  employes  in 
Baltimore  stores  should  not  be  self-sustaining, 
indicates,  from  the  economic  standpoint,  an  ab- 
normal condition.  This  condition  is  character- 
istic of  industries  which  employ  women.  Various 
explanations  have  been  offered  by  economic 
writers  as  to  why  the  wages  of  unskilled  women 
are  fixed  not  by  their  cost  of  living,  but  by  so- 
cial and  personal  conditions.  Habitual  assistance 
offered  by  parents  to  their  daughters  formerly 

119 


SALESWOMEN 

made  the  money  earned  by  daughters  supple- 
mentary and  tended  to  fix  the  market  rates  for 
women's  labor.  As  effects  frequently  persist  after 
causes  have  ceased,  market  rates  continue  to  be 
fixed  although  the  assistance  offered  by  parents 
is  today  often  an  illusion.  Women's  wages  tend 
to  remain  low,  also,  because  of  the  potential 
interruption  of  women's  work  by  marriage.  Since 
women  as  a  rule  cease  to  work  for  wages  before 
the  age  of  twenty-five,  they  have  little  time  in 
which  to  acquire  skill  in  order  to  advance  in  their 
trades,  and  because  of  this  probable  shortness  of 
their  industrial  life  are  less  valuable  than  men  of 
the  same  grade  of  skill.  Conversely,  since  they 
have  no  expectation  of  continuing  at  work,  they 
take  little  interest  in  developing  efficiency.  They 
regard  their  work  as  a  temporary  makeshift,  and 
remain  irresponsible  and  "unprofessional." 

These  conditions  which  everywhere  affect  wo- 
men's wages  are  operative  in  the  Baltimore  mer- 
cantile industry  to  an  unusual  degree.  Baltimore 
is  not  yet  consciously  a  city  of  workingwomen. 
Women  work,  it  is  true,  in  factories,  stores,  offices, 
to  a  number  proportionately  as  great  as  in  other 
eastern  cities,*  but  Baltimore  has  never  agreed 

*  Statistics  of  Women  at  work.  Special  Reports  of  the  Census 
Office.  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  Bureau  of  the  Cen- 
sus. Washington,  Government  Printing  Office,  1907.  P.  146. 

Of  45  eastern  cities,  in  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  Lowell,  Massa- 
chusetts, has  the  highest  percentage  of  workingwomen,  45.1;  Erie, 
Pennsylvania,  the  lowest  percentage,  20.1.  Baltimore  has  a  per- 
centage of  30.6.  As  25  of  the  45  cities  have  less  than  30  per  cent  of 

120 


WAGES    OF    WOMEN    EMPLOYES 

that  this  is  desirable.  "We  regret  the  necessity 
which  compels  some  women  to  work/'  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  city  seem  to  declare;  "properly  speak- 
ing, the  cost  of  their  maintenance  should  be  borne 
by  their  families.  But  if  they  must  work,  their 
wages  are  of  service  by  adding  somewhat  to  the 
family  income."  In  other  words,  the  concession 
that  some  women  must  work  has  been  made,  not 
to  women  as  individuals,  but  to  women  in  their 
family  relations. 

This  point  of  view  seems  to  have  had  secondary 
social  and  economic  effects.  Women  who  sought 
positions  hesitated  to  admit  financial  need,  pre- 
ferring the  lighter  ignominy  of  working  for  pin 
money.  Native-born  women  where  possible 
avoided  factories  and  sought  "white-handed" 
occupations — offices,  if  they  had  time  for  some 
training,  stores  if  they  had  not.*  In  stores,  un- 
trained women  can  earn  "pin  money"  without 
total  loss  of  social  position.  A  girl  who  has  not 
strength  to  run  a  machine  yet  may  stand  behind  a 
counter,  and  a  gentlewoman  who  shrinks  from 
rougher  employments  may  find  some  departments 
of  store  work  not  uncongenial.  This  social  ad- 
vantage which  the  mercantile  industry  has  over 
many  other  occupations  open  to  women,  and  the 
especial  cogency  of  this  argument  in  Baltimore,  has 
led  to  an  oversupply  of  saleswomen.  Inevitably, 

their  women  working,  Baltimore  is  relatively  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  scale.  It  is  equal  in  percentage  with  Paterson,  New  Jersey. 

*  This  tendency  is  true  of  other  cities  also,  but  of  Baltimore  to  an 
extreme  degree. 

121 


SALESWOMEN 

oversupply  in  any  labor  group  lowers  the  market 
rate  of  wages.  It  is,  then,  to  this  social  cause, 
operating  with  and  in  consequence  of  the  personal 
cause,  and  because  in  Baltimore  tradition  operates 
with  especial  force,  that  we  may  attribute  the 
high  percentage — high  even  for  the  mercantile 
industry — of  women  whose  wages  are  lower  than 
the  local  cost  of  living. 


122 


CHAPTER     VIII 
MODIFICATIONS  OF  WEEKLY  WAGES 

THE  stated  sums  paid  weekly  to  employes  for 
service  in  mercantile  houses  may  be  in- 
creased by  extra  compensation  or  dimin- 
ished either  by  extra  demands  or  by  fines.  Night 
work,  whether  regular  or  occasional,  does  in 
reality  imply  a  modification  of  wag«s,  because  it 
necessitates  the  purchase  or  provision  of  an  extra 
meal  away  from  home.  A  girl  may  carry  her 
lunch,  but  she  cannot  well  carry  a  palatable 
supper,  too.  She  is  obliged  either  to  buy  some- 
thing to  add  to  it  or  to  buy  the  entire  meal,  which 
means,  on  Saturday  nights,  an  extra  expense  to  be 
met  regularly  from  the  "sundries"  allowance  of 
her  budget. 

NIGHT  WORK  AND  OVERTIME 
To  work  nights,  to  take  stock,  to  arrange  show 
tables,  to  sell  for  the  Christmas  trade,  or  to  keep 
up  with  orders  in  the  workrooms,  is  an  additional 
expense.  Some  stores  recognize  this,  and  in  a 
variety  of  ways.  They  may  supply  supper  money, 
or  furnish  supper,  or  they  may  pay  for  the  night 
work  at  a  rate  proportionate  to  the  day  rate  of 
pay.  It  is  not  clear  whether  they  regard  these 

123 


SALESWOMEN 

forms  of  extra  compensation  as  payment  for 
overtime,  or  as  a  way  of  canceling  the  extra  ex- 
pense to  which  their  employes  are  put  by  staying 
at  night,  or  as  a  customary  form  of  generosity  to 
which  it  is  well  for  the  best  stores  to  adhere. 
Where  supper  is  furnished,  this  does  seem  to  imply 
that  although  employes  may  not  be  paid  for  their 
night  work,  they  at  least  shall  not  lose  financially 
by  it.  The  same  idea  may  lead  to  the  supplying 
of  supper  money,  although  the  specific  sums  differ 
considerably  according  to  store  and  occupation. 
Where  a  rate  proportionate  to  the  day  rate  of  pay 
is  given,  this  carries  out  solely  the  idea  of  pay  for 
overtime,  and  it  is  only  in  cases  where  in  addition 
to  the  proportionate  rate,  supper  is  supplied  or 
supper  money  is  furnished,  that  the  idea  of  extra 
compensation  without  additional  expense  finds 
expression. 

Generally  a  difference  is  made  between  the  work- 
room and  selling  force  as  to  form  of  overtime  pay. 
A  difference  is  made  also  as  to  form  of  overtime 
pay  to  the  selling  force  according  to  the  season  in 
which  the  overtime  occurs.  Overtime  to  take 
stock  is  customary  in  16  stores,  all  of  which  recog- 
nize this  service  by  some  form  of  extra  compensa- 
tion. Six  stores  furnish  supper  to  their  employes 
and  five  give  supper  money;  four  of  the  latter 
allow  25  cents  for  supper,  one  allows  35  cents  to 
its  sales  people  and  50  cents  to  its  fitters.  Evi- 
dently in  these  cases,  not  to  dwell  on  the  slight 
industrial  superiority  implied  by  the  larger  allow- 

124 


MODIFICATIONS    OF    WEEKLY    WAGES 

ance  to  one  group  of  employes,  this  extra  pay  is 
given  not  so  much  to  compensate  for  the  extra 
hours  spent  in  the  service  of  the  store,  as  to  cancel 
the  extra  expense  so  placed  on  these  employes. 
Four  stores,  at  stock-taking  overtime,  pay  10 
cents,  and  one  1 5  cents,  an  hour,  and  disregard 
the  extra  expense  of  supper.  As  the  supper  hour 
is  presumably  from  6:00  to  7:00  p.  m.  (although 
ordinarily  on  a  week  night  the  employes  would  go 
home  at  6  o'clock),  overtime  and  overtime  pay  do 
not  begin  until  7  o'clock.  As  it  happens,  stock  in 
these  four  stores  is  relatively  small,  and  employes 
in  order  to  shorten  the  evening,  as  a  rule,  go  with- 
out supper  until  later,  working  continuously  at  the 
stock  until  8:00  or  8:30  p.  m.,  when  the  enumera- 
tion is  finished.  Ten  cents  an  hour  in  these  stores 
does  not  represent  either  supper  expense  or  pro 
rata  payment.  It  is  higher  than  the  day  rate  of  a 
majority  of  the  employes,  lower  than  the  day  rate 
of  others.  Apparently  the  amount  is  fixed  arbi- 
trarily, without  conscious  estimate  of  the  com- 
pensation due  employes  for  their  actual  expendi- 
ture of  time  and  money. 

Overtime  to  arrange  stock  on  counters  and  show 
tables  is  of  rarer  occurrence.  The  two  stores 
which  find  it  necessary  supply  supper,  but  give  no 
extra  pay  for  the  extra  hours  of  work. 

Thirty-one  stores  keep  open  at  night  prior  to 
Christmas.  Yet  general  and  continuous  as  this 
overtime  is,  it  receives  less  financial  recognition 
than  the  overtime  at  any  other  season.  One  store 

125 


SALESWOMEN 

supplies  supper  to  its  employes.  Supper  money  is 
not  furnished  by  any  of  the  stores,  nor  is  pro  rata 
pay  given.  This  night  work,  which  means  an 
extra  expense  for  food  as  well  as  heavy  expenditure 
of  strength,  is  given  gratuitously  by  the  employes. 

In  the  workrooms,  on  the  contrary,  employes 
are  as  a  rule  on  a  different  footing.  Nine  stores 
have  no  workrooms,  and  four  which  have  work- 
rooms permit  no  overtime.  Twenty-one  stores, 
however,  do  have  workrooms  which  are  busy  at 
night  during  several  weeks  at  least  in  the  spring 
and  fall  seasons.  Of  these  21  stores,  15  give  over- 
time pay  in  some  form.  One  pays  10  cents  an 
hour,  one  I2>£  cents,  and  one  15  cents  an  hour, 
the  custom  in  the  latter  instance  being  to  disregard 
the  supper  hour  and  impress  this  time  free  of  charge 
into  the  service.  Two  stores  pay  their  hands  50 
cents  *  for  the  night's  work,  irrespective  of  the  time 
at  which  the  night's  work  closes.  Nine  stores 
pay  for  the  night  work  at  a  rate  proportionate  to 
the  day  rate  of  pay,  and  two  of  these  latter  give 
supper  money  in  addition. 

When  so  much  commendation  is  due  these  firms, 
—and  especially  those  which  give  supper  money 
in  addition  to  the  pro  rata  pay, — it  is  perhaps 
overcritical  to  point  out  that  time  given  by  em- 
ployes in  excess  of  the  regular  number  of  hours 
contracted  for,  is  customarily  in  many  places,  and 


*  One  of  these  stores  pays  its  alteration  hands  50  cents  and  its 
milliners  $1.00  for  the  night's  work.  The  difference  in  rates  is  due  to 
the  buyer  of  the  latter  department. 

126 


WAITING  TO  SERVE  LUNCH 


AT  THE  Six  O'CLOCK  CLOSING  HOUR 


MODIFICATIONS    OF    WEEKLY    WAGES 

usually,  it  is  thought,  with  justice,  paid  for  at  a 
rate  half  again  or  twice  as  high  as  the  rate  paid 
for  hours  regularly  arranged  by  contract.     The 
regular  working  day  may  be  supposed  to  repre- 
sent the  maximum  number  of  hours  that  employes 
can  work  effectively.     Whether  or  not  employes 
can  give  continuously  a  full  day's  work  of  the 
number  of  hours  now  customary,  without  losing 
grade,  is  a  point  which  cannot  be  touched  upon 
here.     It  is  fairly  certain,  however, — and  the  cus- 
tom testifies,  as  it  were,  to  the  certainty, — that  they 
cannot  give  more  than  this  customary  number  of 
hours   without    rapidly   losing   grade.     Overtime 
means  a  drain  on  strength  disproportionate  to  the 
mere  length  of  hours  past  the  contracted  time. 
At  the  point  of  excess,  every  additional  unit  of 
work  counts  not  for  one  but  for  two  or  three  ad- 
ditional units  of  consumed  vitality.     The  regular 
day's  rate  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  each 
hour's  work  is  like  each  other  hour's  work  in  its 
effect  on  the  vitality  of  the  worker, — an  assumption 
which  at  the  point  of  excess,  the  point  of  over- 
time, does  not  hold  good, — and  in  order  roughly 
to  compensate  for  the  additional  and  excessive 
drain  on  strength  made  by  extra  hours  of  work,  the 
pay  for  these  extra  hours  must  be  higher  in  pro- 
portion.    From  this  point  of  view,  pro  rata  pay 
for  overtime  is  not  pro  rata  pay  for  expenditure  of 
strength.     Pay  at  the  rate  of  "a  time  and  a  half" 
or  "double  time"  more  nearly  expresses  the  prin- 
ciple upon  which  overtime  pay  is  ordinarily  based. 

127 


SALESWOMEN 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  this  principle  has 
found  no  recognition  among  Baltimore  stores. 
It  is  especially  significant,  however,  that  the 
principle  of  pro  rata  pay  has  not  gained  ground 
in  all  the  workrooms  (six  do  not  pay  in  any  form 
for  overtime  work)  and  that  it  has  not  been  ex- 
tended at  all  to  the  overtime  work  of  the  selling 
force.  The  fact  that  money  compensation  for 
overtime  is  given  to  the  selling  force  only  at  the 
season  of  stocktaking,  and  then  only  in  a  few 
instances,  and  that  no  compensation  at  all  is 
given  for  overtime  work  at  Christmas,  is  yet 
another  indication  of  the  social  and  personal  con- 
ditions affecting  the  rate  of  wages  paid  to  women 
employes  and  modifying  the  operation  of  the 
economic  laws  generally  affecting  the  rate  of 
wages  paid  to  men. 

EXTRA  PAY 

The  total  value  of  weekly  wages  may  be  modified 
not  only  by  overtime  service,  but  by  the  custom 
of  giving  Christmas  money  or  a  yearly  bonus,  by 
assigning  premiums  for  the  sale  of  certain  stock, 
by  allowing  employes  a  percentage  discount  on 
their  purchases  in  the  store,  or  by  supplying  all 
or  any  portion  of  their  lunch  to  the  employes 
without  charge.  Christmas  money  is  not  gen- 
erally thought  of  as  payment  for  service  rendered. 
More  generally  it  is  regarded  as  a  voluntary  ex- 
pression of  good  will  which  takes  no  cognizance 
of  either  individual  differences  in  efficiency  or 

128 


MODIFICATIONS   OF    WEEKLY   WAGES 

wages.  It  is  in  no  sense  to  be  regarded  as  pay- 
ment for  the  night  work  of  the  weeks  preceding. 
Five  Baltimore  firms  customarily  give  Christmas 
money.  The  largest  employs  70  hands,  and  the 
smallest  26.  One  firm  which  gives  each  sales 
person  $5.00  at  Christmas  requires  no  night 
work.  Another  which  keeps  its  store  open  three 
nights  a  week  the  year  round,  and  nightly  for 
three  weeks  before  Christmas,  gives  each  sales 
person  $2.00  at  Christmas.  Three  other  firms, 
one  of  which  keeps  its  store  open  nightly  four 
weeks  before  Christmas,  gives  each  sales  person 
who  has  been  for  a  year  in  the  employ  of  the  firm 
$2.50  at  Christmas.  Clearly,  since  the  amount 
varies  without  reference  to  individual  earnings  or 
extent  of  night  work,  Christmas  money  cannot  be 
regarded  as  payment  for  overtime.  It  is  more  in 
the  nature  of  a  bonus  for  the  extra  sales  of  the 
season. 

A  bonus,  not  at  Christmas,  but  early  in  the 
spring,  is  given  by  two  stores.  The  principle  on 
which  this  bonus  is  calculated  is  not  clear  to  the 
employes  who  are,  in  fact,  unable  to  form  any 
idea  as  to  the  relation  between  sales  and  the 
amount  which  they  may  expect  to  receive.  After 
the  books  are  audited  for  the  year,  the  bonus  is 
arranged  for  and  paid  in  February  or  March  to  all 
sales  people  who  have  been  with  the  house  two 
years.  The  same  sum,  which  varies  from  year 
to  year,  is  given  to  each  sales  person.  In  1909, 
the  bonus  in  one  store  was  $12,  in  the  other  $33.45. 
9  129 


SALESWOMEN 

Premiums,  or  "P.  M/s,"  on  the  contrary,  while 
they  may  not  "move"  the  stock  of  a  department, 
yet  undoubtedly  hasten  the  sale  of  the  stock  to 
which  they  apply.  A  "  P.  M."  placed  on  an  article 
means  that  the  sales  person  who  succeeds  in  selling 
the  article  is  paid  a  premium  of  5,  10,  or  25  cents, 
as  the  case  may  be.  The  sales  person  is  thus  given 
a  tangible  reason  for  making  an  effort  to  effect  a 
sale.  Stock  that  has  lain  on  the  shelves  too  long, 
that  sales  people  have  not  been  interested  to  sell, 
that  for  some  reason  the  public  has  not  wanted, 
by  carrying  a  premium  with  it  spurs  the  energies 
of  a  hitherto  indifferent  selling  force.  Such  stock 
is  not  necessarily  undesirable.  It  may  simply 
lack  some  qualities  that  appeal  to  the  public  and 
may  not  have  found  its  right  customer.  The  price 
set  upon  it  may  have  been  too  high  for  the  quality 
of  the  article.  The  style  of  it  may  be  unusual 
and  hence  unattractive  to  the  majority,  or,  more 
frequently,  the  article  may  be  out  of  style  and  old. 

Some  Baltimore  merchants  assert  that  not  a 
store  in  the  city  would  hesitate  on  occasion  to  set 
premiums  for  the  sale  of  certain  stock.  Many 
merchants,  however,  feel  that  as  a  general  thing 
the  principle  is  bad;  that  it  may  lead  to  unwise 
efforts  to  sell  things  that  customers  really  do  not 
want,  and  by  forcing  a  sale  may  cause  dissatis- 
faction and  result  in  the  loss  of  the  customer.  It 
may  be  said  of  22  stores  that  they  prefer  in  general 
to  trust  to  the  efforts  of  sales  people  and  to  the 
oversight  of  buyers  rather  than  to  methods  of  this 

130 


MODIFICATIONS    OF    WEEKLY    WAGES 

sort.  Twelve  stores,  however,  make  premiums  a 
part  of  their  policy.  Two  of  these  12  use  them 
infrequently,  but  the  rest  use  them  habitually  in 
all  departments.  For  example,  a  cent  a  yard 
premium  may  be  put  on  wash  goods  that  have  not 
sold;  a  premium  of  25  cents  may  be  put  on  a 
baby's  coat  once  white  but  now  of  a  less  definite 
shade  and  out  of  style;  a  premium  of  50  cents  to 
$1.00  may  be  put  on  furs  which  by  much  hand- 
ling have  lost  their  glory.  The  amount  of  the 
premium,  as  well  as  the  specific  use  of  it,  depends 
in  general  upon  the  department  buyer's  opinion 
as  to  the  probable  difficulty  of  effecting  a  sale. 

A  discount  allowed  on  purchases  made  in  the 
store  is  an  important  extension  of  the  purchasing 
power  of  wages.  Where  the  store  is  well-stocked 
and  the  goods  are  of  a  kind  that  employes  want, 
the  advantage  to  them  when  buying  ready-made 
clothing  is  evident.  As  a  rule,  employes  are  quick 
to  recognize  this.  Of  the  28  stores  which  give  a 
discount,  it  is  reported  that  in  18  employes  habitu- 
ally buy  from  the  store.  Where  the  grade  of  the 
goods  is  very  much  above  the  financial  capacity  of 
the  saleswomen,  or  where  on  the  other  hand  it  is 
below  their  ideas  of  taste,  use  of  the  discount 
becomes  occasional  or  infrequent.  The  amount  of 
discount,  too,  varies  somewhat.  Ten  per  cent  is 
customary;  it  obtains  in  most  departments  of  25 
stores.  One  store  gives  a  6  per  cent  discount, 
and  two  stores  give  an  irregular  and  unassigned 
discount  in  some  few  departments  only. 


SALESWOMEN 

Another  addition  to  the  real  wages  of  employes 
is  the  free  provision  of  all  or  any  portion  of  the 
lunch.  The  lunch  service  of  the  different  stores 
has  been  already  discussed,  but  a  word  of  recapitu- 
lation here  may  not  be  out  of  place.  A  free  lunch 
is  not  provided  by  any  of  the  stores,  but  in  two 
stores  tea  and  coffee  with  milk  and  sugar  are 
served  free.  In  four  stores  lunch  is  served  at  cost 
—a  real  extension  of  the  purchasing  power  of 
wages,  since  for  the  same  expenditure  the  same 
quality  of  food  could  not  be  obtained  in  restau- 
rants outside. 

FINES 

The  amount  of  wages  is  not  only  increased  by 
such  means  as  the  foregoing,  but  decreased*  in 
some  stores  by  fines.  Twelve  of  the  34  stores 
make  a  practice  of  fining  employes  for  lateness 
and  two  of  these  12  impose  additional  fines  for 
errors  in  index  sheets  or  for  a  wrong  address  on  a 
package.  The  customary  fine  for  lateness  is  i 
cent  a  minute.  In  two  stores,  this  is  varied  to 
half  a  cent  a  minute  and  in  one  store  to  2  cents  a 
minute.  Two  stores  fine  the  dilatory  employe  a 
quarter  of  a  day's  pay,  and  one  store  charges  10 
cents  for  each  half  hour's  lateness.  Usually  these 

*  It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  the  wages  of  most  saleswomen 
besides  being  occasionally  diminished  through  their  misconduct,  as 
explained  in  the  text,  are  also  liable  to  diminution  through  illness. 
There  are  few  women  employes  who  do  not  miss  a  day  from  work 
and  lose  a  day's  wages  from  time  to  time  on  account  of  ill  health. 
Two  Baltimore  stores,  however,  do  not  deduct  for  time  lost  through 
illness,  unless  illness  extends  over  a  week.  In  the  other  stores  an 
employe  customarily  loses  pay  for  the  time  of  absence. 

132 


MODIFICATIONS    OF    WEEKLY    WAGES 

deductions  are  made  for  each  day's  delinquency 
and  the  employe  has  no  chance  to  make  reparation. 
One  store,  however,  has  worked  out  a  scheme  by 
which  five  minutes'  lateness  in  the  morning  may 
be  canceled  by  fine  minutes'  overtime  at  noon  and 
the  deductions  calculated  each  week  may  be  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  extra  time  to  the  credit  of  the 
delinquent. 

The  charge  for  an  error  in  the  index  is  as  a  rule 
i o  cents,  and  the  same  charge  is  made  in  one  store 
for  a  wrong  address.  In  another  store  where  a 
fine  is  imposed  for  a  wrong  address,  25  cents  is 
the  charge. 

These  fines,  which  bear  no  measurable  relation 
to  wages  or  to  the  inconvenience  caused  by  care- 
lessness, are  indicative  often  of  other  points  in  the 
policy  of  a  store  toward  its  employes.  One  cent 
a  minute  does  not  compensate  for  the  annoyance 
caused  by  lateness.  Any  failure  in  punctuality  is 
a  demoralizing  interference  with  the  morning's 
work,  and  the  fine,  whatever  the  amount  of  it, 
is  frankly  disciplinary.  It  is  a  threat  directed 
against  all  lateness  alike,  but  aimed  at  lateness  that 
is  avoidable.  The  question  is  whether  avoidable 
lateness  when  punished  by  a  fine  is  actually  di- 
minished. We  do  not  find  that  delinquents  spend 
much  serious  thought  on  small  penalties  to  which 
under  certain  circumstances  they  are  liable.  If 
they  were  irresponsible  before,  they  seem  still  to 
be  irresponsible  and  to  accept  the  fine  as  they 
would  any  other  disagreeable  fact.  If,  on  the 

133 


SALESWOMEN 

other  hand,  they  know  that  they  have  made  an 
effort  to  be  punctual  or  to  be  accurate,  they  accept 
the  fine  with  fatalistic  resignation  but  with  a 
brooding  and  growing  resentment  against  what 
they  consider  injustice. 

It  may  be  questioned  whether  a  store  can  afford 
discipline  which  arouses  this  mood  in  its  employes. 
The  sense  of  injustice  is  slow  to  be  dissipated  and 
difficult  to  turn  into  channels  of  effective  work; 
to  satisfy  their  resentment  girls  whose  small  wages 
have  been  reduced  by  fines  are  sometimes  tempted 
to  make  up  their  loss  in  ways  they  would  not 
dream  of  in  calmer  moments.  This  is  an  injury  to 
the  girl  and  the  sum  exacted  is  of  doubtful  value 
to  the  store.  Stores  of  higher  grade  make  no  use 
of  habitual  monetary  fines.  They  prefer  when  a 
fine  is  imposed  at  all,  to  have  it  the  exceptional 
method  of  dealing  with  the  exceptional  case,  and 
to  keep  records  of  tardiness  as  a  check  to  the  over- 
careless.  If  an  employe  is  habitually  late,  she  is 
valueless,  whether  fined  or  not.  If  her  lateness  is 
occasional,  she  may  quite  as  readily  be  induced  to 
improve  through  the  influence  of  her  superiors  as 
through  the  imposition  of  an  impersonal,  and  as 
she  feels,  unjust  fine. 


134 


CHAPTER  I  X 
BENEFICIARY  SOCIETIES 

THE  idea  of  association  is  still  largely  un- 
developed among  mercantile  employes. 
The  social  and  educational  possibilities 
of  the  industrial  group  have  scarcely  begun  to  be 
utilized  either  by  firms  or  by  employes,  al- 
though in  some  places  the  beginnings  of  club 
work  serve  for  social  expression,  and  in  others, 
the  beneficiary  society  has  an  educational  purpose. 
Neither  mode  of  expression  has  made  much 
headway  among  Baltimore  stores.  Club  work  is 
found  in  one  store  only,  and  this  club  work,  which 
is  confined  to  boys,  is  largely  due  to  the  interest 
of  a  single  official.  Beneficiary  societies,  on  the 
other  hand,  exist  in  five  stores.  They  owe  their 
inception  for  the  most  part  to  the  suggestion  of  the 
firm  and  sometimes  to  direct  financial  aid.  In 
two  cases,  no  contribution  was  made  by  the  em- 
ployer, but  in  one  case  the  association  was  not 
only  started  but  endowed  by  a  member  of  the 
firm.  In  two  other  cases  a  lump  sum  was  con- 
tributed by  the  firm  to  start  the  association.  The 
firm  in  two  cases  acts  as  collector,  deducting  dues 
either  weekly  or  monthly  from  pay  envelopes. 

135 


SALESWOMEN 

Owing  to  the  difference  in  organization  of  these 
beneficial  associations,  they  cannot  well  be  de- 
scribed collectively.  They  vary  from  what  might 
be  termed  a  form  of  private  poor  relief  to  the  im- 
personal and  fully  organized  body  planned  on 
democratic  principles.  For  instance,  one  asso- 
ciation exists  for  the  benefit  of  women  employes 
who  have  been  ten  years  with  the  house.  The 
association  is  endowed,  but  in  order  that  it  may 
have  legal  standing,  nominal  dues,  fixed  at  25 
cents  per  annum,  are  paid  by  members.  Neither 
sick  benefits  nor  death  benefits  are  specified.  No 
financial  statement  is  issued.  A  board  of  di- 
rectors from  among  the  members  is  elected  by 
them,  the  tacit  understanding  being  that  the 
manager  of  the  firm  is  to  be  on  this  board. 
The  manager  in  fact  has  practically  absolute  con- 
trol. The  other  members  of  the  board  are  women 
who  leave  care  of  details  in  the  manager's  hands. 
He  controls  the  finances  of  the  association,  both 
as  to  management  and  expenditure,  and  while 
nominally  consulting  with  the  elected  directors 
before  making  grants  from  the  beneficial  fund,  his 
judgment  and  inclination  are  responsible  for  the 
decisions  of  the  board.  When  cases  of  illness  are 
reported,  it  lies  with  the  manager  whether  any 
sick  benefit  shall  be  paid,  and  if  a  sick  benefit  is 
paid,  what  the  amount  shall  be.  He  takes  into 
consideration  the  circumstances  of  the  family  and 
the  kind  of  service  given  by  the  employe,  in  making 
his  decision.  If  the  family  seems  able  to  bear  the 

136 


BENEFICIARY    SOCIETIES 

expense  of  the  employe's  illness,  no  sick  benefit  is 
paid.  The  same  is  true  of  death  benefits.  In 
neither  case  is  there  evidence  of  careful  investiga- 
tion. It  would  seem  that  chance  impressions  and 
a  few  queries  decide  the  manager  to  give  or  with- 
hold financial  aid. 

Somewhat  more  fully  organized  although  still 
on  a  private  basis  is  the  beneficial  association  of 
another  store.  The  firm  in  this  case  made  no 
initial  contribution  and  exercises  no  control.  All 
the  officers  are  elected  from  among  the  employes, 
but  the  same  committee  of  administration,  made 
up  of  the  people  first  interested  in  the  association, 
is  continued  year  after  year  in  office.  A  verbal 
financial  statement  is  issued  yearly,  but  there 
appear  to  be  neither  by-laws  nor  formal  organiza- 
tions. The  dues  are  5  cents  a  week,  and  a  sick 
benefit  of  $3.00  a  week  may  be  paid  for  four  weeks 
out  of  the  fiscal  year.  There  is  no  death  benefit. 

One  firm  contributed  $200  to  start  a  beneficial 
association.  The  firm  acts  as  collector  of  dues 
but  leaves  the  entire  management  of  funds  to  the 
officers  of  the  association,  all  of  whom  are  elected 
from  the  employes.  Three  classes  of  members  are 
designated  according  to  salary.  Class  A  is  com- 
posed of  members  who  draw  a  salary  of  $12  a 
week  or  over;  the  assessment  is  1 5  cents  per  week. 
Class  B  members,  who  draw  from  $6.50  up  to  $12 
a  week,  pay  an  assessment  of  10  cents,  and  Class 
C  members,  who  draw  a  salary  of  less  than  $6.50 
per  week,  pay  an  assessment  of  5  cents  per  week. 

'37 


SALESWOMEN 

The  sick  and  death  benefits  are  graded  according 
to  the  amount  of  dues,  sick  benefits  being  $7.50  to 
Class  A  members,  $5.00  to  Class  B  members,  and 
$2.50  to  Class  C  members.  No  benefits  are 
allowed  for  less  than  a  week's  illness.  They  are 
not  continued  longer  than  thirteen  weeks  in  any 
one  year  unless  the  minimum  sum  in  bank  amounts 
to  $800,  in  which  case  benefits  for  an  additional 
thirteen  weeks  are  paid  at  one-half  the  usual  rate. 
Death  benefits  are  $150  to  members  of  Class  A, 
$100  to  members  of  Class  B,and  $50  to  members 
of  Class  C.  If  the  cash  on  hand  at  any  time  falls 
below  $200,  the  treasurer,  by  order  of  the  board  of 
managers,  must  levy  an  assessment  upon  each 
member,  not  exceeding  38  cents  on  Class  A,  25 
cents  on  Class  B,  and  1 3  cents  on  Class  C.  Funds 
are  administered  by  relief  and  visiting  committees, 
appointed  by  the  board  of  managers  and  acting 
with  the  secretary-treasurer.  A  constitution  and 
by-laws  have  been  adopted  for  this  association, 
and  a  financial  statement  is  issued  yearly. 

This  form  of  organization  is  typical,  although 
somewhat  more  democratic  than  that  in  the  two 
other  beneficiary  societies.  In  them  as  in  the 
one  described,  three  grades  of  membership  are 
designated  according  to  salary,  assessments,  and 
benefits,  varying  with  the  grade.  The  sick  benefit 
is  for  eight  weeks  in  any  one  year.*  Administra- 
tion is  by  committees  either  elected  from  the  em- 

*  One  association  pays  a  death  benefit  of  $50  to  all  classes  of  mem- 
bers. 

,38 


BENEFICIARY    SOCIETIES 

ployes,  or  appointed  by  an  elected  board  of  direc- 
tors whose  rulings  are  subject  to  approval  of  the 
membership.  The  policy  of  the  association  is 
for  the  most  part  determined  by  employes,  al- 
though in  both  these  latter  cases  the  firms  exer- 
cise some  slight  and  indirect  control.  The  finan- 
cial secretary  of  the  association  is  in  one  case  the 
confidential  secretary  of  the  proprietor.  In  the 
other  case  the  assistant  treasurer  of  the  firm  is 
treasurer  of  the  association.  Secretary  and  trea- 
surer are  bonded  and  paid  a  salary  amounting  to 
4  per  cent  of  the  receipts. 

To  provide  against  fraud,  these  associations 
require  that  notification  of  illness  shall  be  made  to 
the  secretary  in  writing,  usually  within  a  week  of 
the  disabling  cause.  No  member  may  draw  sick 
benefits  within  two  weeks  (thirty  days  in  one  case) 
of  joining  the  association.  No  benefits  may  be 
issued  except  on  attestation  of  the  illness  by  a 
physician's  certificate,  and  on  report  of  the  visit- 
ing committee. 

Membership  is  voluntary  in  all  five  cases.  The 
proportion  of  members  to  total  employes  varies 
from  a  handful  in  one  case  to  80  per  cent  in  another. 
Membership  is  forfeited  when  a  member  leaves 
the  employ  of  the  firm.  Whether  or  not  employes 
comprehend  the  principle  of  insurance  is  doubt- 
ful, but  beyond  question  this  rule  keeps  many  out 
of  the  association.  Even  5  cents  from  $4.00  a  week 
is  not  to  be  staked  on  a  chance.  "Suppose  I  did 
join,"  many  a  girl  has  said,  "and  then  suppose  I 

139 


SALESWOMEN 

didn't  get  sick  this  year,  and  suppose  next  year 
I  got  another  job,  there'd  all  my  money  be  gone 
for  nothing."  The  fact  that  the  amount  paid 
into  the  association  is  actually  small  and  that  she 
has  received  value  in  the  form  of  insurance  if  not 
in  money,  does  not,  in  her  mind,  counterbalance 
the  fact  that  she  has  paid  her  premiums  without 
tangible  return.  Not  understanding  the  nature 
of  insurance,  she  does  not  realize  that  she  has  been 
secured  against  the  danger  of  being  ill  and  without 
money.  She  does  not  want  to  pay  out  money 
for  premiums  unless  she  "is  shown"  that  it  will 
be  of  benefit  to  her. 

Furthermore,  should  she  in  reality  value  the 
insurance,  she  might  hesitate  to  join  the  associa- 
tion on  the  ground  that,  forfeiting  membership 
if  she  left  the  store,  she  would  be  unprotected  for 
the  period  of  time  which  must  elapse,  according 
to  rules,  before  she  could  apply  for  membership 
in  the  association  of  the  store  to  which  she  had 
gone.  If  this  second  store  had  no  association,  she 
would  be  entirely  unprotected,  although  the  fiscal 
year  of  her  insurance  in  the  other  place  might  not 
have  been  completed. 

Although  in  some  larger  organizations  the  rule 
that  membership  is  forfeited  if  the  employe  leaves 
the  firm,  may  have  originated  in  the  desire  to 
prevent  change  in  personnel,  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  this  desire  has  caused  the  rule 
in  the  beneficiary  associations  under  considera- 
tion. Saleswomen  are  easily  replaced.  Further, 

140 


BENEFICIARY    SOCIETIES 

if  saleswomen  have  opportunity  to  better  them- 
selves markedly  as  to  tangible  weekly  salary,  few 
are  restrained  from  seizing  such  opportunity  by 
reflection  that  the  act  means  forfeiture  of  money 
paid  into  an  insurance  society.  More  probably 
the  rule  is  in  part  an  unconscious  inheritance  from 
the  by-laws  of  larger  organizations,  and  in  part  is 
due  to  an  attempt  to  minimize  bookkeeping.  Yet 
it  would  seem  that  if  membership  could  be  con- 
tinued at  the  option  of  the  member,  at  least  during 
the  fiscal  year  in  which  she  leaves  the  employ  of 
the  store,  the  probable  increase  in  membership, 
by  making  the  association  sounder  financially, 
would  fully  compensate  for  the  increased  book- 
keeping. 

This  suggestion  leads  to  another  point  in  con- 
nection with  beneficiary  societies;  namely,  their 
educational  value.  Where  the  control  of  the  or- 
ganization is  in  the  hands  of  one  person,  or  even  in 
the  hands  of  a  self-perpetuating  committee,  it  is 
without  educational  value.  When  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  the  association's  activities — the 
investment  and  disbursement  of  funds — is  in  the 
hands  of  an  official  of  the  store,  even  if  that  official 
be  elected  by  the  employes  to  carry  on  these 
activities  and  if  all  policies  of  the  association  are 
decided  by  vote  of  the  employes,  the  educational 
value  of  the  association  is  unduly  limited.  Only 
when  management  and  control  are  altogether  in 
the  hands  of  employes,  as  they  are  in  one  of  the 
societies  under  consideration,  does  the  association 

141 


SALESWOMEN 

become  educational  as  well  as  beneficiary.  Under 
such  circumstances,  membership  in  the  society 
is  a  training  in  democratic  organization.  It 
should  be  a  training  in  self-reliance  and  in  wise 
judgment  in  choice  of  officers;  and  responsibility 
of  trust  funds  should  be  a  training  to  the  finance 
committee  and  the  board  of  managers  in  the  care 
of  money.  If  this  educational  function  be  rec- 
ognized, there  should  not,  it  would  seem,  be  any 
hesitation  in  permitting  members  to  retain  their 
membership  even  though  they  have  left  the  store. 
The  additional  bookkeeping  involved  is  in  itself 
an  opportunity  rather  than  a  drawback.  In- 
crease in  membership  is  likely  to  mean  an  increase 
in  ability  at  the  service  of  the  association,  and  ex- 
penditure of  time  by  members  in  such  service  rep- 
resents a  kind  of  altruism  which  the  association 
should  develop. 


142 


CHAPTER  X 
SALESWOMEN  THEMSELVES 

WAGES  and  hours  of  work,  the  planning 
and  building  of  stores,  are  only  one  side 
of  mercantile  employment.  The  other 
side,  the  side  with  which  after  all  we  have  been 
concerned  from  the  beginning,  is  the  meaning  of 
wages  and  hours  of  work  in  terms  of  the  lives  of 
women  workers.  Who  are  the  women  employes? 
What  nationalities  do  they  represent?  Where  do 
they  live?  What  positions  do  their  families  hold? 
What  has  been  their  previous  training,  their  in- 
dustrial history?  What  degree  of  economic  self- 
dependence  have  they  reached  not  as  a  group,  but 
as  individuals  each  of  whom  must  meet  and  solve 
the  problem  of  her  own  life? 

For  the  answer  to  these  questions  no  classified 
data  are  available.  Such  light  as  can  be  gained 
from  store  officials  is  mainly  negative  and  of  the 
most  general  sort,  but  from  the  girls  themselves 
can  be  gathered  bit  by  bit  an  interpretation  of 
their  problem  as  they  see  it. 

The  nationality  groups  are  few.  Native-born 
American  girls  are  found  in  all  the  stores,  and  in  22 
they  are  in  the  majority.  Two  stores  employ  only 

143 


SALESWOMEN 

American  girls.  This  preponderance  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  many  customers  prefer  to  be  served  by 
Americans,  and  in  part  to  the  fact  that  native- 
born  girls  of  Anglo-Saxon  stock  prefer  when  pos- 
sible to  choose  an  occupation  socially  superior  to 
factory  work.  Eight  firms  do  not  employ  Jewish 
girls.  In  26  stores,  however,  Jewish  girls  are  em- 
ployed and  in  seven  of  these  they  are  in  the 
majority.  Girls  of  German  extraction  are  found  in 
27  stores,  and  predominate  in  five.  The  reason  for 
this  latter  condition  lies  not  in  a  policy  of  the 
stores  but  in  the  character  of  the  neighborhood, 
which  is  largely  German. 

Slavic  girls  have  hardly  entered  the  industry. 
Most  stores  would  not  think  of  employing  them, 
although  in  other  cities  where  the  Slavic  immigra- 
tion is  old  enough  for  some  of  its  children  to  have 
won  an  American  school  education,  many  em- 
ployers find  it  practicable  to  engage  bright  Polish 
and  Croatian  girls  as  saleswomen.  In  Baltimore, 
they  are  employed  in  three  stores  only;  not  more 
than  45  at  most  are  employed,  and  35  of  these  are 
alteration  hands. 

When  the  question,  Where  do  they  live?  is 
asked  of  an  employer,  the  answer  is  not  readily 
forthcoming.  This  question,  clearly,  has  not 
assumed  economic  significance  in  Baltimore.  It 
is  taken  for  granted  that  saleswomen  live  at  home; 
or  if  not  at  home,  with  relatives;  or  if  not  with 
relatives,  with  friends;  but  for  the  most  part  at 
home,  and  therefore  this  question  is  not  worth 

144 


SALESWOMEN    THEMSELVES 

asking  an  applicant  for  employment.  Compara- 
tively few  employers  do  ask  it.  They  feel  that  they 
are  dealing  with  a  population  largely  stationary, 
not  with  a  changing,  shifting  population,  not  with 
a  multitude  of  young  untrained  workers  drifting 
in  from  smaller  towns.  Some  few  feel  vaguely  that 
perhaps  the  population  of  the  city  is  not  so  entirely 
stationary  as  it  was,  and  for  this  reason  they  seek  to 
know  that  the  girls  have  homes.  Others  seek  to 
engage  only  employes  obliged  to  work  for  their 
own  or  their  families'  support,  because  they  find 
that  such  employes  make  the  best  material.  Some 
hazard  the  guess  that  perhaps  a  few  of  their  em- 
ployes are  boarding,  but  that  most  of  them  live  at 
home. 

It  is  the  girls  who  know.  They  are  able  to 
corroborate  or  to  refute  the  guesses  that  have 
been  made  about  their  way  of  living.  Often  their 
testimony  bears  out  what  has  been  said  by  their 
employers.  In  the  following  pages  will  be  found 
the  substance  of  interviews  had  with  a  few  of  the 
girls  and  women.  These  are  given,  not  because 
the  stories  and  circumstances  described  in  them 
are  typical  of  all  saleswomen  in  the  Baltimore 
stores,  but  because  each  represents  a  different  kind 
of  situation  and  illustrates  a  point  bearing  on  the 
general  tenor  of  the  discussion.  They  throw  light 
on  the  homes  and  living  requirements  of  the  women 
—an  important  part  of  the  problem  which  could 
not  appear  in  a  study  made  solely  in  the  stores. 

Fourteen  stores  have  no  employes  who  are 
10  145 


SALESWOMEN 

living  away  from  home,  but  they  are  small  and 
most  of  them  are  away  from  the  main  shopping 
district;  five  are  on  Gay  Street,  three  on 
South  Broadway,  one  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
one  on  West  Baltimore  Street,  and  four  on  Lex- 
ington Street.  Twenty  stores  have  employes  who 
are  living  away  from  home.  Some  have  only  one 
or  two  such  "detached"  saleswomen,  but  in  other 
cases  a  third  of  the  girls  are  separated  from  their 
families.  The  total  number  in  these  34  Baltimore 
stores,  who  are  known  to  be  living  away  from 
home,  is  767,  17  per  cent  of  all  the  women  em- 
ployes. 

Maggie  Fordham,  for  instance,  was  born  in 
Virginia  and  "given  the  education  of  a  lady/'  but 
when  she  was  still  in  her  teens  her  parents  died. 
Her  brother  was  married  and  in  financial  difficul- 
ties. There  were  no  relatives.  The  girl  had  a 
friend  who  had  come  to  Baltimore  some  years 
before  and  was  then  buyer  in  one  of  the  large 
stores.  "And  I  don't  know  how  it  was,"  said 
she,  "but  1  just  naturally  seemed  to  take  to 
business,  and  so  I  wrote  to  my  friend  and  told  her 
that  I  was  coming  and  she  should  get  me  a  job. 
And  it  happened  right  good  for  me,  for  there  was  a 
vacancy  in  her  department — the  muslin  under- 
wear— and  she  put  me  in  for  selling  right  away." 

The  first  week  she  had  $150  worth  of  sales  on 
her  book.  She  was  paid  $5.00  a  week,  and  as  she 
had  some  clothes,  always  walked  to  work,  and 
went  out  little,  because  she  did  not  find  the  girls 

146 


SALESWOMEN    THEMSELVES 

like  those  with  whom  she  had  been  brought  up, 
she  got  along  well.  After  awhile  her  salary  was 
raised  to  $7.00  and  she  was  put  in  as  head  of 
stock.  "We  might  make  you  a  buyer,  Miss 
Maggie/'  they  said,  "but  first  we  know,  you'd 
be  getting  married,  and  then  where  would  we 
be?"  "And  I  just  laughed  at  them,"  she  said, 
"  because  I  hadn't  any  thoughts  of  getting  married, 
then;  but  it  wasn't  long  after  that  I  met  my 
husband,  and  then  of  course  I  left  the  store  just 
like  they  said  I  would." 

Her  husband  was  a  railroad  man.  After  they 
had  been  married  eight  years,  he  was  killed  on  the 
tracks.  His  life  insurance  was  just  enough  to 
leave  her  out  of  debt,  and  she  had  three  little 
children  to  support.  What  should  she  do?  Her 
brother  and  his  wife  had  moved  to  Baltimore  and 
they  offered  her  a  home  with  them.  They  gave 
her  one  room  and  she  started  in  to  earn  something. 
She  could  not  bear  to  return  to  any  of  the  uptown 
stores,  because,  though  she  might  have  received 
more  money,  she  would  have  seen  her  children 
only  when  they  were  asleep.  She  therefore  took 
a  position  in  a  little  store  nearby.  She  could  thus 
have  lunch  and  supper  with  her  children.  She 
found  the  night  work  the  most  difficult.  From 
March  until  July  and  then  again  from  September 
until  January  the  store  kept  open  every  night  until 
9:00  p.  m.,  and  if  there  were  customers,  until  10  or 
1 1  o'clock.  She  had  to  be  there  five  nights  out  of 
the  week.  One  winter  two  of  her  children  died  of 


SALESWOMEN 

membranous  croup.  "And  all  the  time  I  had  to 
be  at  the  store  and  leave  my  brother's  wife  to  take 
care  of  them,  for  if  it  is  only  $4.50  a  week,  I  can't 
afford  to  lose  any  of  it.  There's  no  one  bringing 
any  money  in  here  except  my  brother  and  me." 

The  economic  position  of  the  widow  is  often 
more  difficult  than  that  of  the  unmarried  woman 
away  from  home.  The  latter  can  sometimes  hold 
out  for  a  few  years  and  manage  by  strict  economy 
to  support  herself,  but  when  the  widow  has  chil- 
dren to  care  for  and  when  no  one  of  the  family 
group  is  earning  enough  to  support  the  others, 
the  struggle  is  severe.  Not  infrequently  the 
family  tie  is  of  slight  help. 

Other  saleswomen  with  or  without  their  families, 
are  more  nearly  self-dependent.  A  large  group  is 
made  up  of  women  whose  family  connections  and 
family  history  are  good,  who  are,  some  of  them 
at  least,  in  reality  gentlewomen.  These  women 
usually  have  education  and  breeding  sufficient  to 
place  them  on  terms  of  friendliness  with  their 
customers.  They  are  employed  in  stores  which 
have  won  a  more  or  less  aristocratic  clientele. 
They  sell  dress  goods,  silks,  laces, — stuffs  which 
they  can  present  attractively  by  reason  of  their 
own  judgment  and  good  taste.  They  receive 
from  their  customers  and  their  employers  genuine 
respect  and  recognition. 

Such  is  Miss  Eleanor  Burns,  for  fifteen  years 
saleswoman  of  silks  in  one  of  the  stores  in  the 
Lexington  Market  district.  She  presides  with 

148 


SALESWOMEN    THEMSELVES 

dignity  over  her  department,  and  so  well  does  she 
know  the  store  that  she  has  permission  to  go  with 
customers  from  department  to  department  and 
sell  to  them  goods  on  other  floors.  She  has  grown 
gray-haired  in  the  service  but  she  has  kept  the 
color  in  her  cheeks  and  her  native  charm.  Her 
family  has  lived  in  Maryland  for  generations,  not 
in  Baltimore  but  in  the  farm-country  beyond,  and 
she  like  her  sisters  grew  up  without  a  thought  of 
financial  responsibility.  The  blow  came  with  the 
failure  of  her  father's  health  and  the  dwindling 
of  his  business  interests.  Two  of  her  sisters  were 
married.  Her  brother  was  ready  and  able  to 
carry  on  the  home  but  the  two  girls  at  home  would 
have  to  help.  What  could  they  do?  Not  teach,  for 
they  had  not  the  training.  They  shrank  from  office 
work.  The  store  seemed  at  least  possible.  Into 
that  channel  they  turned  their  energies  and  the 
social  charm  which  in  their  personal  life  outside 
had  for  years  stood  them  in  good  stead.  Together 
they  make  $25  a  week,  enough  to  maintain  them- 
selves and  to  be  of  material  assistance  in  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  home. 

In  contrast  to  such  successful  employes,  Tessie 
Schlueter  is  an  example  of  the  saleswoman  who  is 
intermittently  employed.  Tessie  is  the  daintiest 
of  German  women.  Her  dreamy  face,  her  sensi- 
tive mouth,  her  delicate,  blue-veined  hands,  would 
indicate  a  different  sort  of  history,  yet  Tessie  began 
at  the  age  of  eleven  as  a  servant.  Her  parents 
were  always  poor,  and  she  was  the  oldest  of  twelve 

149 


SALESWOMEN 

children,  consequently  she  had  to  go  to  work  young. 
"  Even  when  I  was  a  bit  of  a  girl/'  she  will  tell  you, 
"  I  worked  in  the  cannery.  Oh,  mother  worked 
there,  and  I  sat  on  the  bench  with  her  and  stemmed 
fruit  and  peeled  vegetables — I  wasn't  more  than 
five  or  six  years  old  then — and  together  we  used 
to  get  a  lot  done."  Tessie  went  to  school  irregu- 
larly, but  she  studied  a  little  at  a  nearby  mission. 
She  had  to  help  support  the  younger  children. 
After  she  had  been  at  service  a  few  years,  she 
entered  a  store  and  became  a  saleswoman;  in 
addition  to  selling  she  scrubbed  and  cleaned  the 
store,  and  arranged  stock  late  at  night  after  the 
customers  had  gone.  For  this  service  she  was  paid 
$3.00  a  week,  and  after  she  had  been  there  five 
years  she  became  head  saleswoman  in  the  mil- 
linery department  and  received  $4.00.  This  sum 
was  the  most  she  ever  got.  She  was  married  at 
nineteen  and  is  now  thirty.  Her  husband  is  a 
box  maker,  but  work  is  slack  and  for  two  years  he 
has  been  much  out  of  work.  Even  when  he  is 
employed  his  wage  averages  only  about  $6.00  a 
week.  There  are  three  children  to  support  and 
the  rent  is  $6.00  a  month.  For  the  last  three 
years  Mrs.  Schlueter  has  been  working  on  Monday 
and  Saturday.  She  wishes  she  could  be  employed 
every  day.  "I'd  manage  about  the  children  and 
I  could  do  the  washing  at  night.  You  see  I  only 
get  50  cents  a  day  for  work  at  the  store  from  8 
in  the  morning  until  10  or  1 1  at  night;  they  don't 
pay  you  much  when  you  come  in  that  way ;  they 

150 


SALESWOMEN    THEMSELVES 

know  that  you  have  to  take  what  they  give  you. 
Since  Christmas,  I  haven't  even  had  the  Monday 
and  Saturday  work.  They  laid  me  off  along  with 
some  others,  because  they  said  they  weren't  doing 
any  business,  but  they'll  take  me  on  again  as 
soon  as  work  picks  up,  because  I've  been  there  so 
long  and  I'm  used  to  the  store.  But  if  only  it 
could  be  for  the  whole  week  instead  of  for  just 
two  days!" 

The  situation  of  the  extra  hand  who  is  not 
married  but  is  beginning  her  industrial  life  is 
illustrated  by  the  case  of  Helen  Johnson.  Helen 
is  a  tall,  overgrown  girl  of  fifteen,  blond  and  raw- 
boned,  awkward  and  very  child-like.  She  was 
born  in  Detroit  but  came  here  with  her  family 
when  she  was  seven  years  old,  and  has  lived  ever 
since  in  the  tangle  of  streets  that  complicates 
South  Baltimore.  Her  father  pays  the  rent,  but 
he  never  sees  the  family, — he  does  not  wish  to. 
They  have  to  earn  whatever  money  they  need  for 
clothes  and  food  and  other  things.  Helen  went 
to  school  up  to  the  sixth  grade,  but  after  that  she 
took  a  position  wrapping  bottles  in  the  factory 
where  her  older  sister  works.  Her  sister  has  made 
as  much  as  $8.00  a  week,  but  her  mother  did 
not  wish  Helen  to  stay  in  the  factory,  so  she  got  a 
position  in  a  five-  and  ten-cent  store  for  Monday 
and  Saturday  work.  The  Monday  work  is  from 
8 :  oo  to  5 : 30  and  it  pays  her  50  cents ;  the  Saturday 
work  from  8:00  to  10: 30,  pays  75  cents.  She  was 
laid  off  two  weeks  after  Christmas. 


SALESWOMEN 

The  obligation  to  be  self-supporting  is  no 
less  binding  because  she  lives  in  the  house  with 
her  family  than  it  would  be  had  she  come  to  the 
city  alone.  Her  rent  is  paid,  which  should  reduce 
the  estimate  for  board  and  lodging,  made  on  page 
1 1 5,  to  $\  .50  a  week;  that  is,  the  estimated  cost  of 
her  maintenance  would  be  $5.00.  For  her  mother, 
sister  and  herself,  the  estimated  cost  of  mainte- 
nance would  be  $15  a  week,  but  counting  what 
Helen  makes  and  what  her  sister  makes  in  the 
very  best  weeks,  the  total  income  is  $9.25.  This 
means  that  the  standard  of  the  family  in  food,  in 
clothing,  in  sundry  necessities,  is  sinking  below  the 
point  at  which  physical  health  can  be  maintained. 
Helen  wants  to  work  six  days  in  the  week;  her 
employer  has  an  option  on  her  time  which  effectu- 
ally prevents  her  earning  anything  on  off  days,  and 
she  is  paid  for  two  days'  work. 

Nora  Baldwin  is  another  of  the  younger  girls, 
a  round-cheeked,  blackhaired,  Irish-American  child 
of  fourteen.  She  looks  at  you  out  of  her  black 
eyes  gravely,  and  although  she  smiles  now  and 
then,  she  takes  life  too  seriously  to  laugh,  for  she 
is  chief  breadwinner  of  a  family  of  eight.  Her 
father  used  to  keep  a  dairy,  but  a  year  ago  he  died. 
There  are  six  children  younger  than  Nora.  One 
brother  carries  boxes  in  a  factory;  the  mother 
sometimes  gets  a  day's  washing  to  do,  and  some 
of  the  children  are  in  school,  although  there  are 
still  two  or  three  babies  at  home. 

The  family  lives  on  a  winding  alley  14  feet  wide 
152 


SALESWOMEN    THEMSELVES 

with  perhaps  two  feet  of  irregular  brick  and  cobble- 
stone pavement  on  each  side.  The  lower  part  of 
the  street  is  lined  with  stables  and  low  shacks; 
toward  the  upper  end  are  numerous  disorderly  re- 
sorts. For  four  tortuous,  winding  squares  there 
is  not  a  street  light  save  the  lamps  on  intersect- 
ing streets.  And  Nora  gravely  assumes  responsi- 
bility for  her  place  of  residence.  "  Yes,  I  know  it 
isn't  a  good  street/'  she  remarked,  "but  then  we 
live  near  the  corner,  and  I  always  go  round  the 
other  way  after  dark.  You  see  the  rent  is  cheaper 
than  we  could  get  anywhere  else,  and  we  never 
allow  the  children  to  play  on  the  street,  and  so  long 
as  they  are  little,  it  doesn't  matter,  but  when  they 
are  older,  we  must  move  somewhere  else,  of  course. 
I'm  getting  $3.00  now.  That's  an  advance  of  50 
cents  in  six  months.  One  saleslady  in  my  depart- 
ment's getting  $5.00,  but  all  the  rest  are  getting 
more,  and  before  the  children  are  grown  I  ought  to 
be  getting  more,  too,  and  then  perhaps  if  my 
brother  should  earn  a  little  more — you  see  he's 
younger  than  I  am  so  he  can't  earn  quite  so  much 
— why  we'll  be  able  to  move  to  a  better  place." 

Fifteen-year-old  Jennie  Cohen  works  at  a 
notion  counter.  Her  determined  little  brain  is 
working  with  spools  of  thread  and  buttons  as 
stepping  stones  toward  a  career.  She  began  at 
twelve  as  a  salesgirl,  and  after  a  year  and  a  half 
earned  §4.00  a  week.  Then  her  father  became 
ill  and  could  not  work,  and  at  the  same  time  she, 
with  half  the  girls  in  her  department,  was  laid  off 

153 


SALESWOMEN 

because  of  slackness.  When  she  was  sent  for  she 
was  in  a  hospital  with  typhoid  fever  and  it  was 
eight  months  before  she  could  return  to  work. 
"And  after  I  went  back  they  wouldn't  give  me 
but  $3.00,  although  I  had  had  two  years'  experi- 
ence. They're  awfully  strict  here  and  there  isn't 
any  chance  for  you,  anyway.  Miss  Hattie  over 
there  is  head  of  stock  for  perfumery  and  belts 
and  she's  been  here  fourteen  years,  but  she  only 
gets  $5. 50. 

"My  sister's  a  bookkeeper  and  she  gets  $10  a 
week,  but  I'm  studying  stenography.  I  go  to 
night  school  three  times  a  week  and  take  a  lesson 
before  going  home, — then  I  have  the  evening  to 
study  in.  The  school  finds  you  a  position  when 
you  finish.  It's  harder  for  me  than  for  some  of 
the  others  because  I  only  went  to  the  sixth  grade 
in  day  school,  so  I  have  lots  of  English  to  study. 
We  have  all  wanted  my  brother  to  go  to  City 
College,  that  was  why  I  left  to  go  to  work,  and  if 
I  can  get  a  job  as  a  stenographer  I'll  be  sure  to 
earn  more  than  I  do  here,  anyway." 

Saleswomen  who  count  their  chances,  and  use 
what  means  lie  at  their  disposal  to  push  ahead,  were 
occasionally  met  with.  May  Williamson  has  be- 
come a  cloak  and  suit  saleswoman  at  $15  a  week. 
After  she  left  public  school,  in  the  fourth  grade,  her 
first  venture  was  in  one  of  the  smaller  stores  on 
South  Broadway,  but  shortly  afterwards  she  left 
the  square  about  Fell's  Market  to  take  a  position 
at  $4.00  a  week  in  a  store  uptown.  A  bright  spot 

154 


SALESWOMEN    THEMSELVES 

among  her  varied  memories  of  this  place  is  the 
night  when  the  girls  presented  a  petition  and  won. 
The  Saturday  closing  hour  was  1 1 130  p.  m.,  but 
the  girls  got  up  a  petition  to  close  at  10:30,  and 
one  of  the  foremen  promised  to  take  it  to  the 
manager;  the  floormen  were  as  much  interested  as 
the  girls,  and  whenever  a  girl  was  too  scared  to 
sign  her  name,  they  put  it  down  anyway.  Most  of 
the  girls  did  sign,  however,  and  the  manager  con- 
sented. Not  long  after  this  episode,  May  mar- 
ried, but  within  a  few  months  she  left  her  husband 
and  went  to  work  again.  She  had  found  that  her 
best  course  would  be  to  learn  some  other  branch  of 
the  trade,  and  in  consequence  she  deliberately 
reduced  herself  from  a  first  floor  saleswoman  to 
stock  girl  in  the  cloak  and  suit  department  of  a 
small  Lexington  Street  store.  "There,"  she  said, 
"  I  learned  how  to  talk  up  to  people,  and  not  to  get 
scared  when  they  ask  you  if  it's  all  wool,  and  to 
tell  them  positively  that  it  is  the  style,  and  to  have 
an  air,  you  know,  when  you  show  things.  First, 
I  used  just  to  hand  out  the  suits  and  watch  the 
other  salesladies,  but  before  long  I  was  selling, 
too,  for  I  was  tall  enough  to  be  on  the  floor.  I 
spoiled  a  foulard  dress  once,"  she  added  reminis- 
cently;  "the  customer  was  stout,  and  I  didn't 
know  enough  to  see  that  the  dress  wasn't  her  size, 
so  I  tried  to  put  it  on  her.  It  was  a  hot  day  and 
the  dress  got  rather  split.  I  was  fortunate  to  be 
paid  at  all  while  I  was  learning,  but  after  I  learned, 
it  was  easy  to  get  a  better  job  somewhere  else. 

155 


SALESWOMEN 

You  can  always  make  more  if  you  leave  and  go  to 
another  firm.  Your  own  firm  won't  raise  you 
because  they  think  they've  got  you.  I ' ve  changed 
several  times  and  I've  always  made  it  count  for 


me." 


Acquiescence,  however,  is  more  usual.  A  sales- 
girl hears  a  rumor  that  a  store  next  to  hers  or  in 
another  street  pays  better  than  the  one  where  she 
is  employed,  but  she  seldom  puts  these  rumors  to 
the  test.  She  reflects  on  the  difficulties  of  secur- 
ing employment  and  she  stays.  Her  judgment 
about  stores  other  than  her  own  is  usually  worth- 
less. She  has  no  standard  in  judging  conditions 
even  in  her  own  store.  She  has  the  vaguest  im- 
pressions about  any  other,  and  a  single  incident 
repeated  to  her  through  a  series  of  friends  is 
enough  to  convince  her  that  "over  there  they 
treat  you  mean  and  you  haven't  got  any  chance 
at  all." 

Minnie  Schaefer  is  a  girl  who  has  stayed.  She 
is  nineteen  years  old  and  has  a  frank,  strong  face 
which  wins  your  confidence.  Her  father  earns 
$18  a  week  on  the  street  cleaning  force,  but  out 
of  his  pay  he  provides  his  horse  and  wagon  and 
all  his  equipment.  Her  mother  and  her  older 
sister,  who  is  an  invalid,  are  at  home.  Minnie 
has  been  at  work  three  years.  She  went  through 
public  school  and  then  stayed  home  a  while  before 
going  to  work  as  wrapper  in  a  Lexington  Street 
store  at  $2.50  a  week.  She  was  raised  to  $3.00 
before  long,  but  "the  girls  were  tough,"  she  said, 
156 


SALESWOMEN    THEMSELVES 

"and  when  the  manager  came  around  he  used  to 
shout  at  us  like  we  were  dogs;  you'd  have  thought 
we  weren't  white  people  even,  and  I  was  afraid 
to  move."  Six  months  later  she  became  a  cashier 
in  another  store  at  $2.50  a  week.  Since  then  she 
has  been  raised  twice,  her  last  raise  being  to  $3.50. 
"We  haven't  so  much  time  off  as  the  sales  people/' 
she  said,  "yet  Mr.  X  seems  to  try  to  take  duties 
from  the  sales  people  and  give  them  to  us,  and 
although  he  keeps  us  at  cashiering,  he  won't  raise 
us.  Last  summer  he  took  on  some  little  girls  at 
$2.00  a  week,  but  they  weren't  any  good  and  he  had 
to  discharge  them,  so  he  keeps  employing  older 
girls  and  paying  them  the  wages  for  little  girls. 
Over  there  is  a  girl  twenty  years  old  and  she's 
only  getting  $3.00  a  week.  You  may  think 
because  I  live  at  home  that  I  don't  need  so  much, 
but  they  need  what  I  can  give  them  since  Mar- 
garet isn't  earning  anything,  and  there's  mighty 
little  left  after  clothes  and  carfare  are  paid  for. 
Just  carfare  and  lunches  cost  75  cents  to  $1.00  a 
week,  and  clothes  cost  pretty  near  $2.00.  I  have 
to  spend  so  much  for  shoes,  and  the  dust  wears  out 
your  waists  very  fast;  sometimes  your  waists  get 
so  dusty  from  the  stock  that  you  have  to  have  a 
fresh  one  every  day.  I  give  in  at  home  all  that 
I  have  left.  It's  no  more  than  50  cents-to  a  $1.00 
some  weeks,  and  that  isn't  enough  to  pay  for  your 
food.  You  have  to  think  of  this  when  you're 
trying  to  live  on  what  you  make.  If  I  thought  I 
could  do  any  better,  I'd  throw  up  my  job  to- 

157 


SALESWOMEN 

morrow,  but  cashiers  don't  get  much  and   I've 
never  had  the  chance  to  learn  to  sell/' 

These  are  some  of  the  girls,  each  one  typical 
of  many  more  whose  lives  and  ways  of  thinking 
have  run  in  the  same  channels.  Unlike  many  of 
their  co-workers,  they  are  girls  of  some  intelli- 
gence, some  thoughtfulness,  some  ability  to  ob- 
serve accurately  and  clearly,  although  not  always 
of  strong  judgment.  They  are  superior  in  per- 
sonal qualities  to  the  irresponsible  and  inefficient 
among  their  fellow  employes.  They  understand 
their  problem  sufficiently  well  to  state  it.  That, 
possessing  these  personal  qualities,  they  should 
still  find  it  so  insoluble  implies  for  saleswomen  as 
a  whole  a  far  less  degree  of  economic  self-depen- 
dence than  they  have  been  given  credit  for  by 
the  community. 


CHAPTER  X  I 
TRAINING  IN  SALESMANSHIP* 

HOW   saleswomen    are   to    become   self-de- 
pendent is  a  social  problem  of  grave  im- 
port.    Preceding  chapters  have  shown  that 
a  majority  of  the  women  employes  are  in  fact 
earning  less  than  the  cost  of  their  maintenance, 
and  that  possible  marriage,  inability  to  bargain, 
and  assistance    received  from    their  families,  in 
part  explain  this  condition.      In  part,  however, 
the  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  inefficiency  of  the 
saleswomen  themselves. 

The  occupation  of  selling  is  supposed  to  require 
neither  training  nor  experience.  It  seems  an 
easy  way  to  fill  in  the  years  which  succeed  public 
school  and  to  be  the  simplest  avenue  of  employ- 
ment open  to  unskilled  workers.  The  learning 
of  details  is  left  to  chance.  Saleswomen  who  have 
been  long  with  the  house  show  the  newcomer  where 
stock  is  kept,  and  if  kindly  disposed,  give  her 
suggestions  as  to  the  peculiarities  of  buyers. 

*  Since  this  study  was  written  supplementary  information  has 
been  obtained  upon  some  of  the  subjects  discussed  in  this  chap- 
ter,— especially  with  reference  to  classes  in  salesmanship  for  women 
in  mercantile  establishments  and  educational  institutions.  Various 
features  of  the  work  of  salesmanship  classes  are  dealt  with  in  foot- 
notes in  this  chapter  and  in  Appendices  B  and  C. — EDITOR. 

159 


SALESWOMEN 

Some  one  tells  her  the  custom  as  regards  sales 
checks  and  other  records,  and  with  this  prelimi- 
nary information  she  is  prepared  to  represent  her 
employer  to  his  clientele.  Her  time  is  occupied  by 
her  duties  as  far  as  she  understands  them.  She 
stays  in  the  department  to  which  she  is  assigned, 
keeps  her  stock  dusted  and  in  order,  tries  to  re- 
member what  new  stock  comes  in,  and  when  cus- 
tomers are  around  does  not  converse  more  than  is 
necessary  with  her  co-workers;  if  a  customer  asks 
for  something  that  is  in  stock,  she  produces  it  and 
awaits  decision;  if  a  customer  asks  for  something 
that  is  not  in  stock,  she  states  the  fact.  She  is  in 
reality  a  "counter-server." 

This  does  not  refer  to  saleswomen  notably 
careless  and  inattentive.  Floor  walkers  and  de- 
partment managers  try  to  eliminate  such  em- 
ployes, and  to  arouse  a  feeling  of  loyalty  and  con- 
scientious service.  Persistent  carelessness  results 
in  dismissal.  Inadequate  service  is  a  more  dif- 
ficult matter  with  which  to  deal.  If  a  girl  is 
evidently  doing  her  best,  it  is  not  always  clear  how 
to  suggest  to  her  that  her  best  might  be  higher  in 
standard;  that  instead  of  merely  producing  an 
article  asked  for  she  might  be  of  real  service  to  the 
customer  in  suggestions  and  information  about  the 
stock;  that,  in  other  words,  she  might  be  an 
expert  instead  of  a  mere  counter  attendant. 

But  how  is  this  expert  knowledge  to  be  ob- 
tained? How  is  the  saleswoman  to  learn  to 
recognize  types  of  personalities,  to  grasp  what 

1 60 


TRAINING    IN    SALESMANSHIP 

points  make  the  strongest  appeal  to  each  type  of 
buyer;  to  whom  she  should  emphasize  utility,  to 
whom  beauty,  to  whom  durability;  and  by  what 
personal  qualities  she  may  gain  the  attention  of 
each  type,  focus  attention  to  interest,  and  finally 
fix  the  decision  to  buy?  The  use  of  her  own  per- 
sonality as  a  business  asset  must  also  be  learned. 

Nothing  in  the  past  experience  of  most  sales- 
women can  give  them  a  clue  as  to  the  "how." 
Few  have  bought  extensively,  and  few  have  had 
an  environment  which  would  make  them  judges 
of  quality.  Since  the  saleswoman  cannot  rely 
upon  her  own  judgment  for  ability  to  give  expert 
advice,  who  is  there  to  teach  her?  Her  co-workers 
are  not  competent,  floor  managers  are  not  compe- 
tent, the  department  buyers  are  too  busy.  As 
to  means  of  understanding  her  customer,  she  is 
still  more  hopelessly  without  source  of  instruction. 
She  continues  to  do  her  best,  but  her  best  is  in- 
effective. 

Not  only  saleswomen  but  customers  and  mer- 
chants suffer  from  this  state  of  things.  Customers 
are  frequently  repelled  by  the  seeming  stupidity 
of  sales  people,  and  merchants  are  constantly 
annoyed  by  the  inefficiency  of  their  force.  A 
beginning  toward  stemming  this  tide  of  un- 
satisfactory service,  however,  has  already  been 
made  throughout  the  country  by  stores  of  more 
advanced  management.  Some  efforts  are  tenta- 
tive and  irregular,  but  others  are  on  a  more  perma- 
nent basis.  Instruction  is  given,  among  other 
n  161 


SALESWOMEN 

subjects,  in  certain  English  branches,  in  cash 
systems,  in  the  knowledge  of  textiles,  and  in  the 
art  of  selling  special  merchandise,  as  well  as  in 
efficiency  and  conduct.*  This  instruction  is  in 
the  form  of  regular  class  work  conducted  by  lec- 
turers or  teachers  engaged  for  the  purpose,  or  in 
that  of  talks  given  by  the  store  superintendent, 
the  department  manager,  or  the  social  secretary. f 
Much  of  the  instruction  is  designed  primarily  to 
inform  the  younger  members  of  the  force  about  the 
policies,  systems,  or  merchandise  of  the  particular 
stores,  but  there  is  a  tendency  to  make  it  of  broader 
range  and  to  correlate  the  work  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  pupils  whose  schooling  has,  in  most 
cases,  been  inadequate  and  whose  personal  equip- 
ment is  meager.  But  well  organized  as  the  work 

*  The  Wanamaker  stores  in  Philadelphia  for  seventeen  years  and 
in  New  York  for  two  years  have  conducted  regular  graded  classes  for 
the  younger  members  of  the  force.  These  are  compulsory  and  are 
held  twice  a  week  from  8  : 30  to  10  a.  m.  for  girls  and  junior  boys,  and 
in  the  evening  from  6:30  to  9:30  for  senior  boys.  An  adapted 
course  of  study  in  English  branches,  commercial  geography,  ethics, 
and  knowledge  of  business  forms,  is  pursued  with  regular  text  books 
under  the  guidance  of  experienced  public  school  teachers.  The 
school  began  in  Philadelphia  with  a  class  in  arithmetic  designed  to 
supplement  the  ignorance  of  the  boys  in  addition,  subtraction,  and 
the  writing  of  figures,  and  has  now  developed  in  that  city  into  what 
is  called  the  John  Wanamaker  Mercantile  Institute.  An  evolution 
of  this  body  is  the  American  University  of  Applied  Commerce  and 
Trade,  recently  organized  in  the  Philadelphia  store  and  chartered  by 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania. 

t  Hutzler  Brothers  and  Company  of  Baltimore  have  recently  en- 
gaged a  teacher  to  conduct  salesmanship  classes  in  their  store.  These 
classes  meet  twice  a  day,  in  the  early  morning  and  in  the  less  busy 
hours  of  the  afternoon;  they  consist  of  15  girls  at  a  session  and  the 
period  of  instruction  varies  for  the  different  departments.  The  aim 
of  this  work  is  to  develop  efficiency  in  selling;  and  through  better 
service  to  customers,  a  resulting  benefit  to  the  sales  people  in  larger 
sales  and  therefore  more  salary. 

162 


TRAINING    IN    SALESMANSHIP 

may  be  in  some  establishments,  as  a  rule  it  lacks 
an  educational  basis  and  well  thought  out  methods. 
What  saleswomen  need  is  training  for  their  par- 
ticular occupation  based  upon  the  principles  of 
applied  psychology.  Valuable  as  is  instruction  in 
the  elementary  English  branches  for  the  young, 
and  important  as  are  the  superintendent's  talks 
on  conduct  and  loyalty  for  the  establishment  of 
right  feeling  toward  the  work  in  all  the  employes, 
these  efforts  represent  only  the  germ  of  vocational 
training. 

The  problem  of  better  equipment  for  sales- 
women is  receiving  the  attention,  however,  not 
only  of  the  merchants  who  require  better  store 
organization  and  more  efficient  public  service,  but 
of  students  of  social  betterment  and  of  philan- 
thropists who  wish  to  see  working  women  in  a 
position  of  greater  industrial  security,  and  here 
and  there  of  schoolmen  who  wish  to  adapt  public 
education  to  the  industrial  needs  of  the  people.* 
These  are  encouraging  signs,  but  the  movement 
lacks  the  general  support  of  public  interest  and  of 

*  Salesmanship  training  for  boys  has  long  been  taught  in  the  con- 
tinuation schools  in  Munich,  and  similar  classes  for  girls  are  said  to  be 
under  advisement.  In  this  country  the  subject  is  already  receiving 
attention  from  school  officials.  The  Superintendent  of  Schools  in 
Cincinnati  has  sent  a  woman  who  has  had  much  experience  in  the 
stores  in  that  city  to  be  trained  in  the  Salesmanship  School  of  the 
Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union  in  Boston.  Pupils  in 
the  day  classes  to  be  opened  in  the  public  schools  in  Cincinnati  will 
be  actually  employed  for  half  a  day  in  the  department  stores  there. 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  is  also  contemplating  the  introduction 
of  part  time  salesmanship  classes  into  the  public  schools.  The 
merchants  of  the  large  department  stores  there  are  heartily  in  favor 
of  the  attendance  of  their  employes  at  such  classes. 

.63 


SALESWOMEN 

many  of  the  merchants.  Whether  the  three  classes 
referred  to  will  be  able  to  agree  upon  a  system  of 
instruction  that  shall  be  mutually  satisfactory  and 
be  based  upon  broad,  practical,  and  permanent 
lines,  is  yet  to  be  seen.  Under  what  auspices,  pub- 
lic or  private,  joint  or  separate,  the  work  shall  be 
carried  on,  is  still  unsettled.  Nor  will  anyone 
assert  that  experiments  now  being  made  are 
final.  But  it  is  hoped  that  the  present  pioneer 
work  may  be  a  preparation  for  more  com- 
prehensive organization  later  and  that  the  ex- 
perience of  today  will  prove  to  be  the  foundation 
of  a  permanent  system  for  the  future.  In  view 
of  these  statements  it  may  be  of  interest  here  to 
give  in  some  detail  the  history  of  the  salesman- 
ship classes  in  Boston. 

The  Boston  experiment  was  begun  in  the  fall  of 
1905  under  the  auspices  of  the  Women's  Educa- 
tional and  Industrial  Union.*  A  class  was  started 
with  eight  young  girls  who  were  given  lectures  and 
some  practice  selling  in  the  food  salesroom  and  in 
the  handwork  shop  of  the  Union,  but  after  their 
three  months'  course  those  who  found  store  posi- 
tions had  to  begin  as  stock  or  cash  girls.  In 
January,  1906,  when  the  second  class  was  started, 
the  co-operation  of  one  store  was  secured.  The 
Union  class  was  allowed  to  sell  in  this  store  on 
Mondays  for  the  experience  gained  and  for  a  small 

*  The  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union  is  situated  at 
264  Boylston  Street.  It  is  an  exchange  depot  for  women's  work  and 
in  addition  conducts  a  bureau  of  research  and  other  activities  in  the 
interests  of  working  women. 

164 


TRAINING    IN    SALESMANSHIP 

compensation,  and  the  firm  expressed  a  willing- 
ness to  consider  promising  pupils  as  candidates  for 
positions  in  their  store.  As  the  school  still  had 
nothing  definite  to  offer  its  pupils,  it  failed  to 
attract  the  type  of  girl  most  wanted  by  the  stores. 

More  co-operation  with  the  stores  was  neces- 
sary. The  plan  of  the  course  was  explained  to 
several  merchants  and  the  co-operation  of  five 
leading  stores*  was  obtained  to  the  extent  that  the 
superintendents  formed  an  advisory  committee, 
meeting  once  a  month  for  conference  with  the 
president  of  the  Union  and  the  director  of  the 
class. 

The  following  early  account  of  the  school  writ- 
ten by  the  director  gives  some  significant  facts: 
"The  policy,  as  planned  with  the  advisory  com- 
mittee, was  that  candidates  should  be  sent  to  the 
Union  class  from  the  stores,  and  admitted  to  the 
school  if  approved  by  the  director.  After  one 
month  in  the  class,  candidates  were  promised 
store  experience  in  the  store  which  had  accepted 
them,  on  Mondays,  and  the  stores  paid  for  this 
service  $  i  .00  per  day.  They  were  also  guaranteed 
permanent  positions  in  these  stores  at  the  close  of 
the  course,  if  their  work  was  satisfactory  after  one 
month's  probation."  f  On  this  basis  a  class  of  16 

*  Jordan  Marsh  Company,  Gilchrist  Company,  Wm.  Filene's 
Sons  Company,  James  A.  Houston  Company,  and  R.  H.  White  Com- 
pany. These  merchants  now  contribute  toward  the  financial  support 
of  the  school. 

t  Federation  Bulletin,  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union. 
Boston,  February,  1908.  Training  for  Saleswomen,  by  Lucinda  W. 
Prince. 

.65 


SALESWOMEN 

pupils  was  opened  in  October,  1906.  It  was  found, 
however,  that  more  store  experience  was  necessary 
for  the  best  results,  and  the  time  schedule  was 
accordingly  changed  so  that  every  day  from  8 : 30 
to  1 1  a.  m.  and  from  4: 30  to  5 :  30  p.  m.  the  pupils 
were  in  school  and  the  rest  of  the  day  in  the  stores. 
This  half-time  work  was  paid  for  by  the  stores  at 
the  rate  of  $3.00  a  week. 

When  the  class  opened  in  February,  1907,  there 
were  nearly  100  applicants,  from  which  the  school 
selected  21,  the  limit  of  the  class  room.  Many 
applicants  gave  up  positions  which  they  had 
already  secured,  for  the  sake  of  the  training,  and 
others  for  whom  there  was  then  no  room,  filled  a 
waiting  list.  Since  then,  the  school  has  been 
advancing  steadily,  and  has  been  directed  on  lines 
suggested  by  the  German  continuation  schools. 
Mrs.  Prince  thus  describes  the  more  recent 
changes:  "At  first,  the  stores  paid  the  girls  $3.00 
a  week  for  half  time,  but  since  September,  1908, 
the  girls  have  been  given  full  time  wages  and 
allowed  the  three  hours  each  morning  for  three 
months  of  training.  The  stores  found  the  gradu- 
ates so  efficient  that  they  cordially  made  this 
concession,  and  at  the  same  time  asked  if  I  would 
choose  candidates  from  the  stores.  This  I  do  now, 
going  to  the  superintendents'  oifices  and  inter- 
viewing the  girls  there. 

"Those  chosen  are  usually  saleswomen  from  bar- 
gain counters  or  girls  who  are  to  be  promoted  from 
cash  and  bundle  work,  or  those  who  have  shown 

1 66 


TRAINING    IN    SALESMANSHIP 

good  spirit,  but  who  have  gone  to  work  at  four- 
teen years  and  lack  training  and  right  standards. 
Sometimes  girls  who  have  just  entered  the  store 
are  chosen.  Wages  of  candidates  range  from  $5 .00 
to  $8.00,  but  at  the  end  of  a  course  a  graduate  is 
guaranteed  $6.00  as  a  minimum  wage,  and  her 
advance  depends  upon  her  own  ability. 

"The  girls  are  in  the  school  every  day  from  8:  30 
to  1 1 130  a.  m.;  then  after  an  hour  for  luncheon, 
they  go  to  the  stores  for  the  rest  of  the  day;  that 
is,  from  12:30  to  5:30  p.  m.  My  plan  with  the 
class  is  to  take  one  big  subject  every  day;  all 
lectures  are  revised  orally  and  the  girls  write 
all  significant  points  in  note  books/'* 

A  significant  fact  about  the  work  of  the  school 
is  that  it  rests  upon  the  principles  of  sound  peda- 
gogy. It  includes  instruction  not  only  in  the 
theory  and  practice  of  selling  but  also  in  subjects 
which  broaden  the  mind  and  develop  the  character. 
Thirty  students,  all  that  can  be  accommodated, 
now  attend  the  school,  and  its  graduates  number 
300.  The  increasing  recognition  of  merchants, 
even  of  those  who  at  first  were  most  skeptical,  of 
the  value  of  the  training,  has  created  a  demand 
upon  the  school  for  teachers  and  welfare  workers 
not  only  from  the  stores  in  Boston  but  from  those 
in  other  cities.  With  this  demand  in  view,  and 

*  For  a  comprehensive  description  of  the  work  of  the  school  and 
for  a  statement  of  the  educational  principles  upon  which  it  is  based, 
see  Appendix  B,  page  187;  What  the  Schools  Can  Do  to  Train  Girls 
for  Work  in  Department  Stores,  by  Lucinda  W.  Prince.  From 
Bulletin  13,  Proceedings  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Promo- 
tion of  Industrial  Education,  New  York,  1911. 

.67 


SALESWOMEN 

realizing  that  teachers*  are  the  crying  need  of  the 
work  at  present,  the  Union  has  undertaken  a 
normal  course  of  instruction.!  The  course  in- 
cludes practical  experience  in  selling,  the  details  of 
store  organization,  and  knowledge  of  commercial 
values  of  stock  and  mercantile  procedures.  Lec- 
tures on  economics  will  be  given  in  connection  with 
Simmons  College. 

The  experiment  in  New  York,  which  has  under- 
gone many  changes,  cannot  be  said  to  have  weath- 
ered its  vicissitudes  or  to  have  reached  a  satis- 
factory stage.  Industrial  and  social  conditions 
are  so  complex  in  this  city  that  a  new  educational 
idea  requires  a  good  deal  of  trying  out  before  it 
can  be  put  on  a  permanent  basis.  The  beginning 
of  the  experiment  in  the  fall  of  1908  was  due  chiefly 
to  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer,  who 
persuaded  the  Board  of  Education  to  introduce 

*  At  the  request  of  five  of  the  leading  department  stores  of  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  Mrs.  Prince,  in  the  early  months  of  1910,  trained 
a  teacher  for  a  school  of  salesmanship  in  that  city.  So  successful  was 
the  work  and  so  enthusiastic  was  the  recognition  of  it  at  the  public 
graduation  exercises,  at  which  the  mayor  of  the  city  was  present, 
that  the  way  was  paved  for  consideration  of  the  introduction  of 
vocational  and  industrial  part-time  training  for  girls  into  the  city 
school  system.  The  teacher  of  these  classes  in  the  salesmanship 
school  has  since  been  called  to  conduct  similar  ones  in  the  store  of 
Marshall  Field,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

t  The  class  this  year  has  contained  one  Smith,  one  Radcliffe,  and 
two  Wellesley  graduates.  While  the  Director  considers  an  educa- 
tional background  essential  to  a  teacher's  real  success  in  this  work  she 
has  been  willing  at  the  request  of  the  merchants  to  train  women 
employes  to  do  special  work  in  three  department  stores  in  Boston; 
and  when  she  was  on  a  visit  to  California  in  1909,  at  the  request  of 
Mr.  O.  W.  Hale,  she  gave  a  month  to  preparing  one  of  his  employes 
for  teaching  and  to  the  organizing  of  salesmanship  classes  in  his 
San  Francisco  stores.  For  an  account  of  the  work  still  being  carried 
on  there,  see  Appendix  C,  p.  200. 

1 68 


TRAINING    IN    SALESMANSHIP 

a  class  in  salesmanship  into  one  of  the  public 
night  high  schools,  and  to  Miss  Diana  Hirschler, 
formerly  welfare  secretary  in  Wm.  Filene's  Sons 
Company  of  Boston,  who  conducted  the  class. 

The  course  was  intended  primarily  for  sales- 
women already  occupying  positions.  Two-hour 
sessions  were  held,  at  first  on  four  evenings  a  week 
and  later  on  two  evenings,  during  the  school  terms 
from  October  to  April.  The  work  consisted  of 
oral  and  written  lessons  in  elementary  English  and 
arithmetic,  and  of  talks  on  fabrics,  store  organi- 
zation, the  art  of  salesmanship,  and  related  sub- 
jects given  by  the  director  of  the  class  and  by 
some  of  the  superintendents  and  merchants  of  the 
New  York  stores. 

It  was  perhaps  expecting  a  good  deal  that  girls 
tired  by  work  should  attend  classes  on  subjects 
that  had  occupied  their  minds  through  the  day. 
That  a  number  did  attend  shows  the  appeal  such 
instruction  made  to  them.  At  the  end  of  the  term, 
however,  the  course  was  discontinued,  and  at  this 
time  no  public  classes  for  girls  are  being  conducted 
in  New  York,  though  several  correspondence 
schools  *  exist  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  certain 
branches  of  the  mercantile  business.  Some  of  the 
larger  stores  give  special  instruction  of  one  kind 
or  another  to  their  employes.  These  classes  are 
under  the  auspices  of  the  merchants  and  for  the 
benefit  of  their  own  employes  who  alone  attend 
them.  They  vary  in  the  character  of  the  in- 

*  One  of  these  is  conducted  by  Miss  Hirschler. 

.69 


SALESWOMEN 

struction  given  and  in  the  relation  of  the  teacher  to 
the  store.  Sometimes  the  welfare  secretary  or  the 
store  superintendent  is  the  teacher;  sometimes 
an  outsider  is  engaged  by  the  firm  to  give  a 
course  on  a  special  subject.  If  the  latter  is  the 
case,  the  expenses  of  the  class  are  met  by  the 
employer. 

While  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  public  classes 
are  open  in  New  York  to  the  general  body  of  sales- 
women, and  while  vocational  training  in  sales- 
manship must  still  be  considered  in  an  empirical 
stage,  the  movement  that  is  taking  place  here  and 
there  throughout  the  country,  the  interest  of  the 
Boston  merchants  in  the  work  of  the  salesmanship 
school  in  that  city,  the  demand  for  teachers  able  to 
conduct  these  classes  together  with  the  attention 
of  educators  interested  in  the  industrial  equip- 
ment of  the  young  wage-earner,  seem  to  indicate 
the  possible  transition  of  retail  selling  for  women 
from  an  unskilled  occupation  to  a  trade.  More- 
over, the  time  is  approaching  when  the  develop- 
ment of  the  sales  force  must  keep  pace  with  the 
specialization  of  the  industry,  and  the  efficient 
service  which  workers  trained  to  alert  thinking 
and  accurate  judgment  are  able  to  give  may  in 
time  compel  such  recognition  that  instruction 
of  this  kind  shall  no  longer  be  left  to  the 
faith  and  courage  of  private  enterprise  but  be 
incorporated  into  the  public  school  system  of 
large  cities. 

Should  such  training  become  general  the  effect 
170 


TRAINING    IN    SALESMANSHIP 

on  saleswomen*  would  be  twofold:  personal  and 
economic.  The  younger  employes  in  mercantile 
houses,  although  of  working  age,  have  not  reached 
physical  or  mental  maturity.  At  present,  few  have 
even  gone  through  school;  they  have  felt  that 
further  study  would  not  bring  them  better  pay. 
As  a  rule,  their  entrance,  untaught,  into  an  un- 
skilled occupation  does  not  stimulate  mental 
development.  They  grow  unconsciously  into 
routine  ways,  acquiring  perhaps  some  shrewd 
judgment  as  to  "what  you  have  to  do  to  get  on." 
On  the  whole,  however,  their  work  tends  to  stultify 
rather  than  to  develop  them.  This  is  not  the  fault 
of  the  work.  It  is  the  result  of  the  employe's 
failure  to  understand  the  significance  of  it;  for 
the  ability  to  sell  goods,  through  correlation  with 
ability  in  other  directions,  may  become  really 
developmental.  This  idea  was  well  expressed  by 
Mr.  Edwards, f  secretary  of  the  Committee  on  In- 
dustrial Development  of  the  Boston  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  in  an  address  given  last  autumn  before 
the  National  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Indus- 
trial Education.  "The  work  of  selling  may  be 
mechanical,  lacking  in  life  and  snap,  and  too  often 
is.  But  the  possibilities  for  really  constructive 
work  by  a  well  intentioned,  ambitious,  and  properly 

*  For  the  girls'  estimate  of  the  value  of  such  training  see  letters 
from  former  pupils  in  the  Union  School,  Boston,  in  Appendix  B. 

t  Edwards,  D.  F.:  The  Department  Stores.  Proceedings  Na- 
tional Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Industrial  Education.  Bulletin 
13,  New  York,  1910.  Mr.  Edwards  was  formerly  social  and  edu- 
cational director  of  the  store  of  Wm.  Filene's  Sons  Company,  Boston. 

171 


SALESWOMEN 

trained  sales  person  are  very  great.  Good  sales- 
manship is  by  no  means  a  simple,  rudimentary 
thing  which  anyone  can  perform.  It  is  a  com- 
pound of  some  science  and  more  art.  The  science 
can  be  taught  in  the  form  of  certain  rules  and 
principles.  The  art  can  be  developed  through 
experience  wisely  supervised  and  interpreted." 

That  this  adapted  industrial  instruction  will 
have  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  economic  status 
of  saleswomen  is  also  undoubtedly  true.  The 
selling  cost  of  a  department  is  calculated  at  a 
percentage  of  the  total  sales,  usually  at  5  per  cent. 
The  amount  represented  by  this  percentage  is 
apportioned  in  wages.  If,  while  the  volume  of 
business  remains  stationary  the  number  of  em- 
ployes must  be  increased,  this  means  a  net  loss  to 
all,  whereas  were  the  number  decreased  by  the 
ability  of  those  in  charge  of  the  department,  this 
change  would  mean  a  net  gain  to  all.  It  is  often 
true  that  low  as  an  employe's  wages  are,  she  is  not 
worth  to  her  employer  the  amount  she  is  paid. 

"Whatever  may  be  said  to  the  contrary,  wages 
usually  conform  pretty  closely  to  the  efficiency  of 
the  work  done.  With  competition  and  the  ten- 
dencies of  the  business  forcing  the  big  retailer  to 
offer  the  public  the  best  possible  service,  it  is 
reasonable  to  assume  that  he  will  pay  larger  wages 
to  more  efficient  employes  who  can  render  that 
service."  In  conclusion,  Mr.  Edwards  states  as 
his  conviction  that,  "Any  agency  that  aims  to 
train  systematically  and  on  a  considerable  scale 

172 


TRAINING    IN    SALESMANSHIP 

for  the  work  of  department  stores  will  in  the  end 
exert  an  appreciable  influence  upon  wage  stan- 
dards." 

The  lack  of  economic  value  of  the  large  body  of 
retail  saleswomen  in  the  competitive  market,  as 
has  been  said,  has  acted  with  personal  and  social 
causes  to  keep  the  rate  of  their  wages  low.  Were 
they  given  greater  economic  value  by  trade  train- 
ing, one  prime  cause  for  the  present  level  of  their 
wages  would  be  removed.  Nor  is  this  all  that  would 
be  accomplished.  While  the  unskilled  worker 
makes  no  effort  to  change  her  position,  accepting 
what  she  deems  injustices  because  she  cannot 
make  better  terms  for  herself,  the  trained  worker, 
because  she  has  confidence  in  herself,  refuses  to 
submit  to  oppressive  exactions  and  seeks  newer 
and  even  wider  fields  of  responsibility.  The 
example  of  her  self-reliance  is  of  benefit  to  her 
comrades,  and  her  loyalty,  because  it  is  not  the 
loyalty  of  fear  but  of  decision,  is  of  benefit  to  the 
firm  to  which  she  gives  it;  while  her  consciousness 
of  efficiency  is  a  source  of  courage  and  of  joy  to 
herself. 


APPENDIX  A 

CARDS    USED    IN    THE    INVESTIGATION 


SALESWOMEN 


w 


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176 


APPENDIX    A 


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1 80 


APPENDIX    A 


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APPENDIX    A 


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184 


APPENDIX    A 


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atlonallty 
:  employes  i  .  Americai 

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Teutonic 

ome  environment  i.  L 

is 

II 

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from  home 

revious  training  i  .  P 
of  saleswomen 

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Commercial  training 

Specific  training 
for  salesmanship 

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1 86 


APPENDIX  B 

SALESMANSHIP  INSTRUCTION  IN  BOSTON 

WHAT  THE   SCHOOLS   CAN    DO  TO  TRAIN    GIRLS    FOR 
WORK  IN  DEPARTMENT  STORES* 

MRS.  LUCINDA  W.  PRINCE 

Director  of  Union  School  of  Salesmanship 
Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union,  Boston,  Mass. 

In  considering  what  the  schools  can  do  to  train  girls 
for  department  stores,  it  will  perhaps  be  most  practical 
to  describe  first  how  one  school  of  salesmanship  has 
been  carried  on  as  a  continuation  school  during  the  last 
five  years.  It  should  be  clear  from  the  beginning  that 
the  function  of  the  best  continuation  schools  is  twofold: 
to  prepare  pupils  for  citizenship  in  the  broadest  sense 
and  to  increase  their  skill  and  adaptability  in  bread- 
winning  occupations. 

This  pioneer  work  has  been  so  evolutionary  in  char- 
acter that  a  brief  historical  outline  is  necessary  for  the 
understanding  of  the  organization  and  work  of  the 
present  class.  In  the  fall  of  1905,  the  Women's  Educa- 
tional and  Industrial  Union,  because  of  its  special  in- 
terest in  industrial  training,  started  a  class  in  sales- 
manship. In  the  beginning,  the  school  was  conducted 
without  connection  with  any  business  house.  The  first 
year's  experience  showed  that  as  the  school  had  nothing 

*An  address  given  in  Boston,  November  17,  1910,  before  the 
Fourth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Promo- 
tion of  Industrial  Education.  Printed  by  permission  of  the  Society. 

.87 


SALESWOMEN 

definite  to  offer  its  pupils,  it  failed  to  attract  the  type  of 
girl  wanted  in  the  stores.  The  interest  of  the  stores  was 
next  secured  by  personal  investigation,  and  five  Boston 
firms  agreed  to  allow  pupils  one  day  a  week  in  the  stores. 
One  dollar  was  paid  for  this  service.  It  was  soon  seen 
that  the  store  connection  was  a  very  vital  part  of  the 
upbuilding  of  a  school  of  salesmanship.  Many  im- 
portant questions  were  continually  coming  up  and  as 
these  questions  were  connected  with  store  as  well  as 
school,  an  advisory  committee  of  the  superintendents 
of  the  five  stores  was  formed  to  discuss  and  decide  all 
important  changes  of  policy.  This  committee  agreed 
to  allow  the  girls  half  time  in  the  store  and  half  time  in 
the  school,  giving  them  three  dollars  a  week  for  this 
half  time  work.  This  forward  step  was  accepted  with 
faith  that  the  increased  efficiency  of  the  trained  workers 
would  bring  still  better  conditions.  Two  years  ago 
this  fall,  the  advisory  committee  suggested  giving  the 
girls  full  pay  and  allowing  them  three  hours  a  day  for 
three  months  of  training  if  the  director  would  select  the 
girls  from  the  stores  interested.  This  arrangement, 
making  the  school  a  true  continuation  school,  is  the 
present  one.  At  the  end  of  the  three  months,  if  the 
girl's  work  is  satisfactory,  she  is  given  the  initial  wage 
of  six  dollars  and  guaranteed  a  permanent  position. 

In  general,  the  aim  of  the  course  in  salesmanship  is 
to  develop  those  qualities  which  will  enable  the  pupils 
to  succeed  as  saleswomen.  What  those  qualities  are 
was  determined  by  personal  investigation  of  the  needs 
of  the  average  untrained  sales  girls  in  stores  and  by 
conference  with  superintendents  as  to  qualifications 
essential  to  success.  As  a  result,  the  first  general  aim 
resolved  itself  into  a  fourfold,  more  definite  aim  and 


1 88 


APPENDIX    B 

the  subjects  taught  as  the  natural  outcome  were  selected 
on  the  following  basis: 

(1)  To   develop  a  wholesome,  attractive   person- 
ality:   hygiene  (especially  personal  hygiene):   this  in- 
cludes study  of  daily  menus  for  saleswomen,  ventila- 
tion, bathing,  sleep,  exercise,  recreation. 

(2)  To  give  familiarity  with  the  general  system 
of    stores:    sales   practice,    store   directory,    business 
arithmetic,  business  forms  and  cash  account,  lectures. 

(3)  To  increase  knowledge  of  stock:  color,  design, 
textiles. 

(4)  To   teach  selling   as  a  science:    discussion  of 
store  experiences,  talks  on  salesmanship  such  as  "Atti- 
tude to  Firm,  Customer  and  Fellow-Employe,"  demon- 
stration of  selling  in  the  class,  salesmanship  lectures. 

The  note-book  work  required  gives  material  for 
English,  including  spelling,  punctuation  and  penman- 
ship. Demonstration  of  selling  in  the  class  is  con- 
ducted like  the  teaching  lessons  in  normal  schools. 
Real  customers,  chosen  because  they  represent  differ- 
ent types,  buy  real  articles.  The  sale  is  watched  by  the 
whole  class,  notes  being  taken  of  strong  and  weak 
points.  When  the  sale  is  finished,  the  one  who  has 
made  the  sale  is  allowed  to  criticize  her  own  work,  then 
the  class  criticizes,  the  customer  tells  why  she  did  or 
did  not  buy  the  article,  and  the  whole  is  summed  up  by 
the  director.  These  demonstrations,  the  discussions 
of  store  experience,  observations  in  other  stores,  and 
actual  selling  with  thought,  awaken  the  class  to  the 
difference  between  handing  goods  over  the  counter  and 
really  serving  the  customer.  What  Professor  Palmer 
calls  an  "aptitude  for  vicariousness"  is  as  essential  for 
the  successful  saleswoman  as  for  the  successful  teacher. 

,89 


SALESWOMEN 

As  far  as  possible,  the  class  work  is  correlated;  the 
drawing  is  a  store  plan,  a  design  for  a  costume;  spelling 
is  studied  in  names  and  addresses,  and  in  store  English 
(and  French);  when  the  girls  are  sent  to  the  stores  for 
samples,  exercises  in  salesmanship,  color,  design  and 
textiles  are  involved.  When  the  subject  of  the  textile 
study  is  wool,  one  of  the  store  lectures  at  that  time  is  on 
wool  or  woolen  goods.  Practical  talks  by  representa- 
tives of  the  firms  interested,  experienced  sales  people, 
buyers  and  superintendents  are  given  twice  a  week  to 
the  class  on  such  subjects  as,  "The  Department  Store's 
System  and  the  Saleswoman's  Place  in  It,"  "How  to 
Show  Goods,"  "Trifles,"  "Service  to  Customer."  The 
class  also  has  lectures  on  Vocational  Training,  Food, 
Tuberculosis,  The  Meaning  of  Wages,  and  other  sub- 
jects of  vital  interest.  Three  of  the  most  helpful  talks 
are  given  by  customers.  The  Art  Museum  is  visited, 
lectures  being  given  there  on  textiles,  designs  and  cos- 
tumes. Spinning  and  weaving  are  made  clear  by  a 
morning  at  a  woolen  mill. 

Most  essential  to  the  success  of  the  school  is  the  co- 
operation of  the  stores.  Lectures  from  floor  managers, 
buyers,  superintendents,  are  of  the  greatest  value  not 
only  for  the  business  principles  which  they  emphasize 
but  also  as  evidence  to  the  girls  that  these  men  believe 
in  the  training.  The  superintendents  also  give  much 
time  to  careful  and  frequent  reports  on  the  pupils'  store 
records.  Most  important  of  all  is  the  spirit  of  the  store 
representatives,  which  in  most  cases,  has  changed  in 
these  five  years  from  scepticism  to  interested  support. 
It  will  be  readily  understood  that  such  co-operation 
can  be  lastingly  and  fairly  won  only  by  a  careful  study 
of  the  store  needs. 


190 


APPENDIX    B 

It  is  of  interest,  perhaps,  that  many  visitors  of  the 
school  have  been  business  men  who  have  tested  its 
worth  from  their  standpoint.  Demands  for  teachers 
have  come  from  seven  different  cities.  Schools  have 
been  established  by  the  director  in  San  Francisco  and 
Providence  and  in  both  cases  the  business  men  have 
taken  the  initiative  and  been  eager  to  co-operate  with 
the  director  in  interesting  the  public  school  authorities 
in  the  plan  for  a  public  continuation  school  for  the 
training  of  saleswomen.  Such  a  system  of  public 
education  is  the  only  way  to  reach  all  and  to  give  all  the 
same  chance. 

Now  that  progressive  business  men  and  educators 
endorse  and  desire  vocational  training  for  boys  and 
girls  who  leave  school  at  fourteen,  teachers  must  be 
trained  for  this  work.  The  Women's  Educational  and 
Industrial  Union  offers  a  training  course  for  teachers  of 
salesmanship.  The  theory  and  practice  of  teaching  are 
taught  at  the  Union;  a  course  in  economics  is  offered 
by  Simmons  College.  At  one  of  the  meetings  of  the 
conference  on  Vocational  Guidance,  a  speaker  empha- 
sized the  fact  that  vocational  guidance  without  place- 
ment was  a  one-legged  affair.  Teaching  salesmanship 
without  store  experience  is  equally  one-legged.  The 
teacher  of  salesmanship  must  have  an  academic  leg  and 
a  business  leg,  for  the  one  leg,  serviceable  though  it 
may  be,  will  not  carry  her  far.  The  store  managers 
think  that  the  woman  with  years  of  store  experience  is 
the  one  to  teach  salesmanship  while  the  school  com- 
mittee believe  that  a  grade  teacher  is  required.  Every 
teacher  trained  by  the  Union  is  required  to  get  actual 
store  experience  in  order  that  she  may  handle  salesman- 
ship problems  intelligently.  Among  the  higher-salaried 

191 


SALESWOMEN 

employes  of  the  department  stores  are  many  women 
well  versed  in  the  store  end  of  salesmanship  who  might 
not  teach  successfully.  On  the  other  hand,  our  normal 
schools  turn  out  excellent  teachers,  but  they  are  teach- 
ers with  no  comprehension  of  the  principles  and  work 
of  a  department  store.  No  business  man,  no  sales  girl, 
will  have  confidence  in  a  teacher  who  is  not  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  store  system,  and  no  person  can  expect 
to  succeed  in  educational  work  who  does  not  under- 
stand teaching.  The  teacher  of  salesmanship,  there- 
fore, must  combine  business,  or  more  specifically,  de- 
partment store  experience,  with  teaching  ability  and  a 
vision  of  the  big  social  significance  of  the  work,  never 
forgetting  that  the  girl  must  be  trained  first  for  life 
and  then  for  salesmanship,  or  whatever  other  vocation 
she  may  enter. 

In  vocational  training,  there  are  great  opportunities 
for  social  education.  A  striking  result  of  the  Munich 
system  of  continuation  schools  is  the  growth  of  "esprit 
de  corps "  in  each  vocation.  We  may  certainly  look 
forward  to  a  like  result  when  we  have  carried  vocational 
training  far  enough. 

The  work  of  the  Union  School  of  Salesmanship  as  it 
is  now  organized,  takes  three  hours  a  day  for  three 
months.  A  wiser  and  better  plan  for  all  such  schools 
would  be  a  compulsory  course  continued  over  a  longer 
period  of  time.  From  a  study  of  such  work  for  boys 
in  Munich,  where  it  is  so  wonderfully  organized,  and 
also  from  experience  in  the  Union's  work,  the  director 
is  convinced  that  six  hours'  instruction  a  week  for  a 
period  of  two  years  would  give  more  lasting  results. 
According  to  this  plan,  the  first  year's  work  would  con- 
sist of  elementary  or  preparatory  study  for  a  second  year 

192 


APPENDIX    B 

of  advanced  work.  This  may  seem  a  great  deal  to 
ask  of  employers  of  labor,  but  in  Munich  the  business 
people  and  employers  in  general  no  longer  complain 
about  the  compulsory  continuation  schools,  and  those 
few  who  feel  it  a  burden,  think  it  is  one  that  should  be 
borne. 

It  has  been  justly  said  that  as  things  stand  at  present, 
"the  years  between  fourteen  and  seventeen  are  the 
points  of  educational  leakage/'  We  have  built  up  at 
immense  expense  an  elaborate  system  of  elementary 
education  the  work  of  which  is  almost  wholly  confined 
to  children  under  fourteen.  We  have  also  constructed 
an  extensive  and  costly  system  of  technical  education 
the  work  of  which  is  for  the  most  part  confined  to  young 
people  over  seventeen.  Much  remains  to  be  done  in 
filling  in  the  gap.  Compulsory  continuation  schools 
are  needed  right  here,  especially  for  the  rank  and  file, 
for  those  who  must  go  to  work,  who  dislike  to  study,  and 
who  in  all  cases  need  the  discipline  of  compulsory  educa- 
tion continued  with  work.  The  very  boys  and  girls 
who  are  keenest  for  all  good  things  are  also  keenest  for 
things  evil.  If  the  public  investment  for  them  up  to 
the  age  of  fourteen  is  to  make  good,  the  schools  must 
hold  on  to  them  during  the  next  two  or  three  years. 
Education  in  its  highest  sense  means  "awakening/' 
The  vital  connection  of  education  and  work  awakens 
new  interest  in  both,  changing  heavy,  mechanical 
motions,  joyless,  unthinking  indifference,  to  joyful 
activity  of  mind,  soul  and  body. 


13  193 


QUERIES  TO  STORE  SUPERINTENDENTS* 

Will  please  answer  the  following 

questions  in  regard  to  Miss considering  her 

work  when  she  entered  the  Salesmanship  Class  in  comparison 
with  that  she  is  now  doing. 

1.  Is  her  personality  more  interesting  and  attractive  since 

she  entered  the  school? 

2.  Does  she  comprehend  and  apply  the  store  system  and 

store  rules  more  exactly? 

3.  Does  she  make  out  her  sales  slips  more  accurately,  dis- 

tinctly, rapidly? 

4.  Has  she  developed  power  of  initiative  during  the  training? 

5.  Does  she  keep  her  stock  well, — neatly,  attractively  and 

with  full  lines? 

6.  Does  she  know  her  stock, — what  she  has  and  how  to 

talk  about  it, — advertised  goods,  lines  in  competing 
stores,  etc.? 

7.  Has  she  an  easy  manner  with  all  types  of  customers?     If 

not,  what  particular  type  does  it  seem  hard  for  her  to 
approach? 

8.  Is  she  energetic  and  business-like  in  her  work  and  atti- 

tude? 

*  Questions  sent  by  the  Director  of  the  School  of  Salesmanship 
of  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union,  Boston,  to  store 
superintendents  after  pupils  have  attended  the  school  for  six  weeks. 
Printed  by  permission  of  the  School. 

194 


APPENDIX    B 

9.  Is  she  more  willing  to  work  anywhere  in  the  store  when- 
ever need  arises? 

10.  Suggestions:  Please  note  here  any  special  points  which 
need  emphasis  during  the  final  weeks  of  training. 

Signature 

Date  . 


EXAMINATIONS  FOR  SALESMANSHIP  CLASSES* 
Examination  in  Textiles 

1 .  Describe  in  detail  a  single  raw  fibre  of  each  of  the  four 

textiles  studied.     What  advantage  for  manufacture 
has  each? 

2.  How  do  woolens  and  worsteds  differ  in  raw  material, 

treatment,  and  finished  product?    Give  2  examples 
of  each. 

3.  a.  Name    three    hair-bearing    animals    and    the    textile 

material  made  from  their  hair. 

b.  Name  three  vegetable  fibres  and  one  material  made 
from  each. 

4.  Give  all  the  tests  you  know  for  a  good  piece  of  cotton 

sheeting,  dress  linen,  broadcloth,  taffeta. 

5.  Which  of  the  four  principal  textile  fibres  are  raised 

but  little  in  this  country?    Why? 

6.  What  is  meant  by  "natural  color"  in  linen  and  silk? 

Give  two  examples  of  natural  colored  silk  and  one  of 
natural  colored  linen. 

7.  a.  Compare  cotton   and   linen   as   to  durability,   cost, 

beauty. 

b.  What  is  meant  by  warp,  plain  weave,  sizing,  live 
fleece  wool,  spun  silk? 

*  Examinations  given  in  December,  1910,  to  the  pupils  of  the 
School  of  Salesmanship,  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial 
Union,  Boston. 

195 


SALESWOMEN 

8.  Where  is  the  greatest  amount  of  the  raw  material  of 

cotton  produced? 
Where  is  the  greatest  amount  of  the  raw  material  of 

wool  produced? 
Where  is  the  greatest  amount  of  the  raw  material  of 

silk  produced? 
Where  is  the  greatest  amount  of  the  raw  material  of 

linen  produced? 

Where  is  wool  raised  in  the  United  States? 
Where  is  wool  manufactured  in  the  United  States? 

9.  Tell  all  you  can  about  the  "boiling  off"  process  in 

the  manufacture  of  silk  and  the  "weighting"  which 
usually  follows  it. 

10.        Name  materials,  class  of  fibre  (animal  or  vegetable), 
and  give  talking  points  of  samples  in  the  envelope. 

Examination  in  Salesmanship 

1.  a.  State  ten  cases  in  which  it  is  necessary  to  have  the 

signature  of  the  floor  manager, 
b.  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  sales  slip? 

2.  Suggest  three  ways  of  finding  out  the  price  a  customer 

is  willing  to  pay? 

3.  a.   Describe  in  detail  an  interesting  sale  which  you  have 

either  made  or  lost  lately,  and  tell  why  you  think 
it  resulted  as  it  did. 
b.  Analyze  the  sale. 

4.  Name  at  least  three  things  you  can  do  to  save  time 

in  making  a  sale. 

5.  If  you  have  a  customer  who  has  always  worn  a  certain 

type  of  suit  quite  out-of-date,  how  are  you  going  to 
sell  her  an  up-to-date  suit  and  make  her  feel  satis- 
fied after  she  has  it  at  home? 

6.  Give  four  reasons  why  a  firm  reduces  the  price  of 

merchandise. 

7.  Give  an  outline  showing  how  some  article  from  your 

own  stock  is  handled  from  the  time  it  reaches  the 
receiving  room  until  it  is  delivered  to  the  customer. 
196 


APPENDIX    B 

8.  What  do  you  mean  by  selling  or  talking  points?    Give 

at  least  five  talking  points,  and  if  possible  more, 
of  the  following: 

a.  an  article  from  the  stock  you  are  now  selling. 

b.  an  apron  used  in  the  demonstration  sales. 

c.  a  bureau  scarf  from  the  handwork  shop. 

9.  Name  ten  principles  of  good  salesmanship  which  you 

have  learned  from  the  demonstration  sales. 
10.        What  do  you  consider  the  greatest  need  in  your  de- 
partment and  why?    What  can  you  do  about  it? 


LETTERS  FROM  GRADUATES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 
CLASSES* 

Miss  K,  GRADUATE  OF  1908. — In  reply  to  your  request 
regarding  the  benefits  I  derived  from  the  training  in  the  Sales- 
manship School,  I  would  say  that  the  course  instilled  in  me  a 
deep  and  genuine  interest  in  my  work.  It  made  me  realize 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  saleswoman  by  courtesy  and  tact 
to  please  and  thoroughly  satisfy  her  customer,  thereby  doing 
her  part  to  make  a  regular  customer  for  the  house. 

The  lectures  by  the  different  superintendents  on  courtesy, 
care  of  stock,  salesmanship  in  general,  etc.,  helped  and  in- 
terested me.  They  gave  me  confidence  in  myself,  and  the 
goods  I  was  selling,  proving  to  me  that  honest  goods  could  be 
sold  by  honest  methods. 

The  lecturers  dwelt  on  the  importance  of  knowing  your 
stock  from  the  raw  material  to  the  finished  product,  so  when 
asked  a  question  you  might  be  able  to  answer  intelligently 
and  correctly.  We  were  impressed  with  the  fact  that  it 
was  not  how  long  you  talked  on  the  merits  of  your  goods,  but 

*  Letters  from  three  saleswomen  who  attended  the  School  of  Sales- 
manship, to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Jordan  Marsh  Company, 
Boston,  Mass.  Printed  by  kind  permission  of  the  Jordan  Marsh 
Company. 

I97 


SALESWOMEN 

it  was  your  ability,  your  tact  in  helping  your  customer  to 
decide  on  what  was  suited  to  her  particular  needs. 

Knowing  your  stock  well,  and  talking  intelligently  of 
your  goods,  you  can  meet  a  customer  more  than  half  way,  and 
oftentimes  influence  her  to  purchase  more  than  she  had 
originally  intended  to  buy. 

Last,  but  not  least,  the  training  filled  me  with  ambition. 
At  the  end  of  the  course,  I  had  a  fixed  purpose  in  working, 
that  is,  a  strong  determination  to  do  the  best  that  was  in  me, 
and  by  perseverance  and  hard  work  advance  myself  to  a 
better  position. 

In  closing,  I  would  say  I  am  very  grateful  to  you,  Mr. 

H ,  for  permitting  me  to  attend  the  Salesmanship 

School,  and  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  I  will  do  my  best  to 
be  a  credit  to  the  school  and  those  interested  in  me. 

Miss  C,  GRADUATE  OF  1908. — When  you  first  suggested 
my  going  to  the  School  of  Salesmanship,  I  did  not  see  how  a 
school  of  this  kind  would  be  as  beneficial  to  me  as  the  practical 
experience  in  the  store. 

After  three  months  in  the  school,  I  can  see  that  it  has 
given  me  confidence  in  myself,  created  a  desire  to  sell  goods, 
and  instructed  me  how  to  handle  the  different  types  of  cus- 
tomers which  is  the  great  secret  in  Salesmanship. 

I  think  the  demonstration  sales  are  a  great  feature  of  the 
course.  By  this  method  the  students  have  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  how  a  sale  may  be  lost  and  how  one  may  be  gained. 

Miss  D,  GRADUATE  OF  1910. — In  reply  to  your  request 
asking  that  I  give  you  some  idea  of  the  benefit  I  received  from 
the  course  in  Salesmanship,  I  would  say  that  if  I  should 
undertake  to  write  all  of  the  benefit  I  received  from  the 
course,  it  would  take  you  some  time  to  read  it.  Therefore, 
I  shall  try  to  be  as  brief  as  possible  and  tell  you  of  the  special 
things  that  I  think  helped  me. 

In  the  first  place,  I  had  had  only  a  few  weeks'  experience 
in  selling  when  I  entered  the  school.  I  was  timid  and  back- 


APPENDIX    B 

ward.  I  dreaded  to  wait  on  the  customers  because  I  did  not 
understand  them.  I  did  not  have  any  confidence  in  myself 
for,  like  hundreds  of  others,  I  lacked  training.  I  thought  it 
would  take  years  for  me  to  learn  to  sell  and  talk  to  customers 
as  I  saw  others  do.  After  I  had  been  in  the  school  a  few 
weeks,  I  realized  that  it  was  training  I  lacked.  The  one 
special  thing  that  the  school  did  for  me  was  to  teach  me  to 
read  human  nature,  to  study  people,  to  study  my  customers. 
Before  going  to  the  school,  I  served  all  the  customers  the  same, 
but  I  soon  found  that  I  was  in  the  wrong.  The  school  taught 
me  that  there  were  different  types  of  customers  and  that 
there  was  a  way  to  approach  each  one  and  a  way  to  serve 
each  one,  to  make  each  feel  as  if  you  enjoyed  serving  him  and 
that  it  was  a  great  pleasure.  I  consider  this  an  important 
thing  in  selling,  and  I  think  there  are  people  that  have  been 
selling  for  years,  who  have  failed  to  learn  it. 

Another  thing  the  school  impressed  on  me  was  attention  to 
small  things,  that  the  small  things  are  stepping  stones  to 
higher  things,  that  a  little  tact  in  serving  a  customer,  being 
pleasant  in  some  little  way,  would  cause  that  customer  to 
return  to  the  same  place  to  make  her  next  purchase.  There- 
fore you  gain  a  customer  for  the  store. 

I  find,  after  completing  the  course,  I  am  better  fitted  in 
every  way  for  selling  and  that  I  learned  things  in  a  few  weeks 
that  it  would  have  taken  me  years  to  learn  without  training. 

I  appreciate  your  sending  me  to  the  school  and  I  shall  try 
and  show  my  appreciation  by  giving  to  my  employer  the  best 
service  I  am  able  to  render. 


199 


APPENDIX  C 

SALESMANSHIP  CLASSES  IN  THE  STORE  OF 

HALE  BROTHERS,  SAN  FRANCISCO, 

CALIFORNIA* 

Realizing  that  effort  to  better  the  relations  between 
employes  and  employers  means  progress  along  right 
lines,  and  must  have  its  wholesome  effect  upon  an  entire 
organization,  and  appreciating  that  faithful  service 
by  employes  demands  recognition  beyond  the  salaries 
paid  them,  we  have,  for  a  number  of  years,  stood  com- 
mitted to  a  welfare  policy  which  includes  all  employes 
from  cash  boys  and  girls  to  the  oldest  members  in  the 
business.  The  work  embraces  opportunities  for  men- 
tal training,  the  supplying  of  wholesome  surroundings, 
pleasant  associations,  and  provision  for  physical  comforts. 

We  have  been  conducting  our  business  on  the  eight- 
hour  day  basis  since  1902,  except  for  a  few  days  pre- 
vious to  Christmas  when  we  stay  open  evenings.  For 
some  time  we  were  the  only  store  in  the  United  States, 
so  far  as  we  could  ascertain,  maintaining  an  eight-hour 
work  day,  or  a  forty-eight-hour  week.  We  cannot 
find  that  the  eight-hour  day  has  reduced  either  our 
sales  or  our  net  profits,  while  on  the  other  hand  we  do 
find  that  the  shorter  day  has  resulted  in  better  health 
for  our  employes. 

Our  first  elementary  class  was  formed  in  1896,  with 
the  idea  of  giving  to  our  cash  boys  and  girls  instruc- 

*  Statement  made  by  a  member  of  the  firm. 
200 


APPENDIX    C 

tion  in  the  common  school  branches  which  they  had 
missed  by  being  compelled  at  an  early  age  to  leave 
school  for  the  purpose  of  earning  their  living,  and  which 
they  would  probably  never  obtain  later  in  life. 

Feeling  our  way  gradually  in  this  new  phase  of 
business  life,  and  having  faith  in  its  ultimate  success, 
the  work  was  increased  and  enlarged,  until  at  the  present 
time  students  are  given  the  equivalent  of  a  night 
grammar  school  education.  All  employes  under  six- 
teen years  of  age,  and  some  older  ones,  are  compelled 
to  attend  the  classes  unless  they  show  credentials 
proving  that  they  have  had  a  satisfactory  equivalent  of 
the  work  we  give.  Classes  are  held  during  the  morning 
hours,  under  a  competent  teacher,  and  in  a  modern 
school  room.  The  children  are  supplied  free  with 
books  and  materials,  and  are  given  a  regular  elementary 
school  course,  emphasis  being  laid  upon  the  studies 
which  will  be  of  the  greatest  practical  benefit  in  their 
business  career. 

Continued  employment  and  promotion  in  the  store 
depend  upon  a  pupil's  standing  in  these  classes,  and 
after  graduation  from  them  upon  attendance  in  the 
public  night  schools.  The  most  satisfactory  evidence 
we  have  of  the  quality  of  the  work  done  in  our  course 
is  the  announcement  made  two  years  ago  by  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  of  San  Francisco, 
that  our  graduation  diplomas  would  entitle  holders 
to  enter  the  public  night  high  schools  without  further 
examination. 

Mothers  of  our  pupils  have  taken  an  active  interest 
in  the  work  and  have  often  expressed  appreciation  that 
their  children  could  get  an  education  without  going  to 
night  school  when  they  were  tired  and  should  be  at 

201 


SALESWOMEN 

home  resting  instead  of  studying.  In  several  instances 
parents  have  endeavored  to  get  their  boys  and  girls 
positions  in  the  store  because  of  the  educational  fea- 
tures provided. 

The  Class  of  Advanced  Salesmanship  was  started 
in  1909  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Lucinda  W.  Prince, 
whose  work  in  Boston  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union  has  brought 
about  an  organized  effort  toward  the  teaching  of  expert 
salesmanship.  The  class  is  composed  of  employes 
selected  from  the  store  force.  A  four  months'  course 
is  given,  which  has  for  its  purpose  "the  teaching  of 
right  thinking  toward  the  work  as  a  profession,  the 
arousing  of  a  feeling  of  responsibility,  the  instilling  of  a 
regard  for  a  pleasing  personality,  for  systematic  work 
and  a  close  attention  to  details,  as  well  as  thorough 
instruction  in  the  subjects  which  increase  knowledge 
of  the  goods  to  be  sold."  The  subjects  taken  up  are: 

Textiles. — A  study  of  materials,  colors  and  designs, 
the  object  being  to  increase  the  knowledge  of  stock  and 
to  enable  a  sales  person  intelligently  to  assist  a  customer 
select  materials,  designs,  and  colors:  also  to  make 
attractive  displays  in  the  departments. 

Hygiene. — The  development  of  an  attractive,  whole- 
some personality. 

Store  System. — Studying  the  system  of  making 
sales;  also  business  arithmetic,  business  forms,  and 
accounts. 

One  of  the  most  practical  methods  of  instruction 
is  through  the  Demonstration  Sales  which  are  fre- 
quently held.  Women  representing  different  types  of 
customers  make  purchases  from  a  member  of  the  class 
who  acts  as  a  sales  person,  the  transaction  being  watched 

202 


APPENDIX   C 

by  the  class,  notes  being  taken  of  strong  or  weak 
points,  and  the  whole  ending  in  a  general  discussion 
and  summing  up  by  the  teacher. 

In  addition,  lectures  are  given  each  week  by  depart- 
ment heads  or  by  some  one  equipped  to  supply  infor- 
mation of  benefit  to  sales  people.  The  subjects  of  a 
few  of  these  lectures  may  be  of  interest : 


i  .  Purpose  of  the 

course            8.  Cotton 

2.  Salesmanship 

9.  Hosiery 

3.  Wool 

10.  Gloves 

4.  Millinery 

i  i  .  Toys 

5.  Artificial  Silk 

12.  All  in  a  Day's  Work 

6.  Lace 

13.  Silk 

7.  Embroidery 

14.  Measurements 

15.  Advertising 

The  work  has  awakened  sales  people  to  a  new  sense 
of  duty  and  responsibility,  and  has  brought  about  a 
realization  of  the  difference  between  simply  selling 
goods  and  making  a  customer  for  the  store. 

In  organizing  salesmanship  classes  on  a  permanent 
basis,  we  took  first  the  youngest  people  in  the  store, 
but  found  after  a  short  experiment  that  better  results 
were  obtained  through  selecting  those  who  already  had 
had  some  business  experience;  for  instance,  department 
assistants.  These  showed  a  keener  insight  into  the  work, 
and  got  a  firmer  grasp  on  the  essentials.  Experience  has 
also  proved  to  us  the  advisability  of  letting  the  graduates 
of  the  elementary  class  work  as  sales  people  for  a  time 
before  placing  them  in  the  Salesmanship  Class.  And  to 
make  the  work  of  the  latter  still  more  effective,  gradu- 
ates of  the  Salesmanship  Class  will  be  required  to  serve 
in  their  respective  departments  several  months  before 

203 


SALESWOMEN 

they  receive  their  diplomas.  During  this  time  their  work 
is  observed  closely,  and  compared  with  that  of  the  sales 
person  who  has  not  had  such  instruction. 

The  class  has,  without  doubt,  had  its  wholesome 
effect.  It  has  made  the  pupils  more  ambitious,  has 
brought  them  into  closer  personal  relations  with  their 
duties  and  has  shown  them  methods  by  which  they  could 
rise.  Moreover,  it  has  developed  their  interest  along 
new  lines,  and  in  several  instances  it  has  resulted  in  their 
being  changed  to  other  departments  which  were  per- 
sonally more  attractive  to  them. 

Suitable  exercises  are  held  at  the  graduation  of  the 
Elementary  and  Salesmanship  Classes,  and  diplomas 
and  class  pins  are  given  to  graduates.  Pupils  who  satis- 
factorily complete  the  course  are  given  an  opportunity 
to  advance  in  the  business.  The  classes  in  1910  were 
addressed  by  the  governor  of  California  and  the  mayor 
of  San  Francisco,  and  the  diplomas  presented  by  the 
superintendent  of  public  schools. 

The  following  summary  shows  the  results  of  the  last 
two  years,  during  which  period  the  educational  work  was 
brought  to  its  highest  state  of  efficiency:  The  elemen- 
tary class  of  1909  graduated  1 1  persons,  of  whom  nine 
are  still  employed  in  the  store;  while  of  the  19  graduates 
of  the  elementary  class  of  1910,  15  remain  as  employes. 
The  salesmanship  class  of  1910  graduated  1 1,  of  whom 
10  remain.  That  is,  of  41  graduates  in  1909  and  1910, 
34  are  still  employed  in  the  store.  Among  the  gradu- 
ates 64  have  been  advanced  in  salary  and  42  pro- 
moted. 

As  to  the  effect  of  this  work,  there  is  no  doubt  in 
our  minds  that  it  has  not  only  increased  the  productivity 
of  our  business  but  materially  benefited  the  sales  people. 

204 


APPENDIX    C 

The  cost  of  the  work  has  in  the  past  been  merged  in  the 
general  expense  account,  and  the  statistics  now  being 
kept  do  not  cover  a  sufficient  period  to  enable  us  to 
state  the  beneficial  results  accurately  in  dollars  and 
cents.  That  the  results,  however,  are  beneficial,  we  do 
not  for  an  instant  question. 


205 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ABSENCE  from  floor,  regulations, 

37-38 

Absentee  capitalism,  45 
Advancement,  155-156 

order,  50 

Air  in  stores.     See  Ventilation. 
Aisle  counters,  8-9 
Alteration  hands,  91-94 

room,  49 

American-born,  143-144 
American  University  of  Applied 

Commerce  and  Trade,  162 
Apprentice  wages,  105 
Apprentices,  118-119 
Artificial  light  in  stores,  16-18 
Assistant  buyers,  47,  48-49 

wages,  1 10 
August,  97 

hours,  80 


BALDWIN,  Nora,  story  of,   152- 

'53 
Baltimore,  as  a  field  for  study  of 

saleswomen,  vii 
city  charter,  25 
Basements,  15-16 
Beneficiary  societies,  135-142 
Blower  system  of  ventilation,  12, 

'4 

Board,  cost,  1 1 5 
Bonus,  128,  129-130 


Boston,  instruction  in  salesman- 
ship, 163-168 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  171 
Schoolhouse  Department,  35 

Boys'  clubs,  135 

Buildings,  character,  1-2 

Burns,  Eleanor,  story  of,  148-149 

Buyers,  45-50 

wages,  i  lo-i  1 1 


CANNERY,  150 
Carelessness,  160 
Cash  girls,  50-52 

wages,  105 
Cashiers,  52,  54 

wages,  107 
Casual  labor,  83-103 

alteration  hands,  91-94 

arbitrary  discharge,  102-103 

cases,  149-152 

extra  alteration,  93-94 

hands,  89-90 

holiday  trade,  90-91 

men  and  women,  89 

milliners,  94-97 

Saturday  night  work,  94 

seasonal  variation,  83-89 

vacations,  97-102 
Ceilings,  height,  14 
Chain  of  stores,  55-56 
Chairs.     See  Seats. 


209 


INDEX 


Changing  situations,  155-156 
Charles  Street,  62,  65,  68 
Chicago,  44 

Marshall  Field  store,  168 
Children,  52,  53-54 
Christmas,  hours  of  work  in  the 

week  before,  75-79,  82 
money,  128-129 
overtime  pay,  125-126 
Cincinnati,  instruction  in  sales- 
manship, 163 
Cloak     and     suit     saleswomen, 

wages,  109-110 
Cloak  and  suit  selling,  instance, 

154-155 

Cloak  rooms,  34,  42-43 

Clothing,  cost,  1 1 5 

Club  work,  135 

Cohen,  Jennie,  story  of,  153-154 

Colored  post  cards,  90-91 

Comfort  of  employes,  31-43 
cloak  rooms,  34,  42-43 
lunch  rooms,  33-34,  40-42 
recreation  and  club  rooms,  34 
rest  rooms,  32,  38-39 
toilet  facilities,  31,  35-38 

Commissions  on  sales,  112 

Construction.     See    Store    Con- 
struction. 

Cost  of  living  and  wages,  114-122 

Counter,  aisle,  8-9 
space,  8 
space  behind,  7-8 

Counter-server,  160 

Croatians,  144 

Cross  market,  69 


DAY  of  Atonement,  82 
Death  benefits,  137,  138 


December  hours,  75-79,  82 
Department  heads,  46-47 
Differences    of   organization    of 

stores,  54-56 
Discharge,    arbitrary,     102-103. 

See  also  Vacations. 
Discipline,  133-134 
Discounts  to  employes,  128,  131- 

132 

Dismissal.     See  Vacations. 
Doors  of  stores,  5,  6 
Drapery  workroom,  50 
Dressmakers,  91-94 
Dressmaking,  50 
Dull  months,  97 
Dust  removal  in  ventilation,  14- 

15 
Dusting,  53 


EASTER,  82,  90 
Edwards,  D.  F.,  171-173 
Elevators  in  stores,  12-13 
Entrances  and  exits  of  stores,  5 
Erie,  Pa.,  120 
Errors,  fines  for,  132,  133 
Eutaw  Street,  2,  3,  62 
Evening  shopping,  63-66 
Extra  hands,  89-90 
pay,  128-132 


FAMILY,  living  with,  117-118 
February,  97 

hours,  79 

Fells  Point  Market  district,  64, 
69 

hours  per  week,  74 
Fines,  132-134 
First  floor  of  stores,  7 


2IO 


INDEX 


Floor  managers,  45-46 

Flooring  in  stores,  9-10 

Floors  in  store  buildings,  num- 
ber, 3 

Fordham,  Maggie,  story  of,  146- 
148 

Forewomen,  57 

Foulard  dress,  spoiling,  155 

Friday,  6 1,  62,  63,  64 

Fur  repairing,  50 

GAY  Street,  3,  38,  66,  91,  146 
Gay   Street   district,  hours    per 

week,  (Table)  74 
Gentlewomen,  146,  148-149 
German  girls,  144 
Gilchrist  Co.,  165 

HALE,  O.  W.,  168 

Health,  store  arrangements  for. 

See  Comfort. 

Heating  vestibules  of  stores,  5-7 
"Hexers,"  64,  69 
Hirschler,  Diana,  169 
Holiday  work  (Christmas),  75- 

79,82 
Holidays,  82 

trade  recognition,  90-91 
Home,  living  at,  1 17-1 18 
Homes,  girls',  144-146 
Hospital  rooms,  38,  39 
Hours  of  work,  61-82 

August,  80 

Christmas,  week  before,  75- 
79,82 

closing,  67-69 

December,  75-79,  82 

evening  shopping,  63-66 

extra,  72 


Hours  of  work,  February,  79 
holidays,  82 

influence  of  markets,  61-63 
irregularities,  67-70 
January,  79 
July,  80 
Lexington    Market    region, 

67.  74 

lunch  and  supper  period, 
66-67 

opening,  67 

seasonal  variation,  (Table) 
81 

standards,  legal,  78-79 

stock  taking,  79-80 

summer,  80 

Sunday,  82 

variation  in  stores  and  dis- 
tricts, 63 

week,  average  theoretic  and 
actual,  (Diagram)  71 

week,  theoretic  and  actual, 
(Table)  73 

week  totals,  70-82 

week's  working  hours  out- 
side Lexington  Market 
district,  74 

winter,  75-79,  82 
Howard  Street,  2,  3 
Hutzler    Brothers   and   Co.,    in- 
struction, 162 


ILLNESS,  benefits  for,  136-140 
provision  for,  32,  38,  39 
wage  deductions  for,  132 
Impure  air  in  stores.     See  Ven- 

tilation. 

Industrial    Education,    National 
Society,  171 


21 


INDEX 


Inefficiency,  159 
Injustice,  sense  of,  134 
Installment  buying,  115 
Instruction  in  salesmanship.    See 

Training  in  Salesmanship. 
Insurance,  139-141 
Intermittent  employment.      See 

Casual  Labor. 


JAMES  A.  Houston  Co.,  165 
January,  97 

hours,  79 
Jewish  girls,  144 

New  Year,  82 

Sabbath,  63,  64,  82 
John  Wanamaker  Mercantile  In- 
stitute, 162 

Johnson,  Helen,  story  of,  1 5  i-i  52 
Jordan  Marsh  Co.,  165 
July,  97 

Fourth,  82 

hours,  80 


"  KILLERS,"  64 


LABOR  laws,  78 

Lafayette  Market,  69 

Land,  slope,  2-3 

Lateness,  fines  for,  132-133 

Law  for  Baltimore  as  to  seats 
for  saleswomen,  25 

Laws  of  Maryland  as  to  seats 
for  saleswomen,  20-22,  25 

Laws  on  working  hours  for  wo- 
men, 78 

Lexington  Market  shopping  dis- 
trict, 148 


Lexington  Market  shopping  dis- 
trict, hours  of  work,  67-69 
hours  per  week,  (Table)  74 
Lexington  Street,  2,  3,  61,  62,  68, 

146 

Light  Street,  65,  79 
Lighting  of  stores,  16-18 
Living,  place  of,    144-146.     See 

also  Cost  of  Living. 
Lockers,  42-43 
Lowell,  Mass.,  120 
Lunch,  free  and  partly  free,  132 
Lunch  and  supper  periods,  66-67 
Lunch  rooms,  33-34,  40-42 


MAINTENANCE.       See     Cost    of 

Living. 

Management,  44-45 
Manufacturing  hands,  91-94 
Markets,  influence  on  hours  of 

work,  61-63 
Marriage,  120 
Marshall  Field  store,  Chicago, 

1 68 
Maryland  State  Board  of  Health, 

20,  22 
State   Bureau  of  Statistics, 

20,  22,  25 

Massachusetts  School   Commis- 
sioners, 35 
Men,  percentage  in  stores,  57,  58, 

59 

Method  of  this  inquiry,  viii-x 
Milliners,  94-97 
wages,  1 08 

Millinery  workroom,  50,  94-97 
Minors.     See  Children. 
Modifications  of  wages,  123-134 
Monday,  61,  63 


212 


INDEX 


Munich,    Germany,    instruction 
in  salesmanship,  163 


NATIONAL  Society  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Industrial  Educa- 
tion, 171 

Nationalities,  143-144 
Needlewomen,  91-94 
New  Year's  Day,  82 
New  York  City,  44 

instruction  in  salesmanship, 

168-170 
Superintendent     of    School 

Building,  36 
New  York  State  law  as  to  seats, 

26 

Night  work,  123-128 
Nolan,  Thomas,  1 1 


OCCUPATIONAL  groups  in  stores, 
numbers  and  percentages  with 
table  and  diagram,  56-60 

Organization   of  working  force, 

44-60 

advancement,  order,  50 
alteration  room,  49 
assistant  buyers,  47,  48-49 
Baltimore  conditions,  vii 
basic  similarity,  56 
buyers,  45-50 
carriers,  51-52 
cash  girls,  50-52 
cashiers,  52,  54 
children,  52,  53-54 
department  heads,  46-47 
different  types,  54-56 
drapery  workroom,  50 
dressmaking,  50 


Organization  of  working  force, 

floor  managers,  45-46 
fur  repairing,  50 
management,  44-45 
men,  percentage,  57,  58,  59 
millinery  workroom,  50 
occupational   groups,    num- 
bers and  percentages,  with 
table  and  diagram,  56-60 
proprietors,  54-55 
saleswoman,  50,  54 
stock,  heads  of,  47,  48-49 
stock  girls,  50,  52-53 
superintendents,  45 
upholstery  department,  50 
women,  percentage,  57,  58, 

59 

workroom  managers,  49 

wrappers,  50,  52 
Overtime  pay,  123-128 

rate,  126-128 

in  workrooms,  126 
Ownership  of  stores,  44-45 


PARASITES,  119 

Paterson,  N.  J.,  121 

Payment  of  wages,  system,  1 1 1- 

114 
Pennsylvania  Avenue,  146 

district,  hours  per  week,  74 
Philadelphia,  44 
Pin  money,  121 
Place  of  living,  144-146 
Plenum   system   of   ventilation, 

12,  14 

"P.  M.,"  129 
Poles,  144 
Poor  relief,  136 
Post  cards,  90-91 


2I3 


INDEX 


Premiums  on  sales,  128,  129-130 

Prince,  Lucinda  W.,  165-168 

Proprietors,  54-55 

Providence,  R.  I.,  instruction  in 
salesmanship,  163,  168 

Public  education  in  salesman- 
ship, 163 

RADCLIFFE  College,  168 

Recreation,  115,  116,  117 

Recreation  and  club  rooms,  34, 43 

Rest  rooms,  33,  38-39 

Retail  selling  for  women,  58,  59 

Revolving  doors,  5,  6 

R.  H   White  Co.,  165 

SABBATH,  Jewish,  63,  64,  82 
Salesmanship,  as  an  occupation 

for  women,  v-vii 
training   in.     See    Training 

in  Salesmanship. 
Saleswomen,  50,  54,  143-158 
advancement,  154-156 
casual  workers,  149-152 
gentlewomen,  146-149 
homes,  144-146 
judgment,  156 
nationalities,  143-144 
personal  stories,  146-158 
staying  in  one  place,    156- 

158 
successful    instances,     146- 

149 

wages,  1 08- 1 10 
widows,  148 
San    Francisco,    instruction    in 

salesmanship,  168 
Sanitary  arrangements.     See  un- 
der Comfort. 


Saturday,  61-70,  80,  94 
Schaefer,  Minnie,  story  of,  156- 

158 

Schlueter,Tessie,  story  of,  1 49- 1 5 1 
Seamstresses,  91-94 
Seasonal    variation    in    occupa- 
tions, 56 

of  working  hours,  (Table)  81 
Seasonal  work,  83-103 

alteration  hands,  91-94 

arbitrary  discharge,  102-103 

cases,  149-152 

extra  hands,  89-90 

holidays,  90-91 

manufacturing  hands,  91-94 

millinery  departments,  91 

millinery  workrooms,  94-97 

Saturday  night  work,  93-94 

spring,  97,  98 

suit  departments,  91 

summer,  98 

vacations,  97-102 

variations  in  number  of  em- 
ployes, with  tables,  83-89 
Seats  for  saleswomen,  19-30 

Baltimore  law,  25 

definition,  23 

laws  of  States,  19-20 

Maryland  laws,  20-22,  25 

New  York  law,  26 

non-enforcement  of  laws, 
22-26 

number  of  seats  and  number 
of  saleswomen  in  Balti- 
more stores  in  January, 
1909,  with  tables,  22-30 

South  Carolina  law,  26 
Selling    as    an    occupation    for 

women,  57-60,  159 
Sewing,  116 


214 


INDEX 


Sewing  machine  operators,  wages, 

107-108 

Shafts  in  stores,  12-13 
Shopping  days,  61 
Show  windows,  3-5 
Sick  benefits,  136-140 
Similarity    of    organization    of 

stores,  56 

Simmons  College,  168 
Slavic  people,  64,  144 
Slope  of  land,  2-3 
Smith  College,  168 
Snow,  William  S.,  1 1 
Snyder,  C.  B.  J.,  36 
Social   conditions,   influence   on 

wages,  1 19-122,  128 
Social  position,  121 
Societies.     See    Beneficiary    5o 

defies. 

South  Baltimore,  65,  69,  1 5 1 
South  Broadway,  63,  146 
South  Carolina  law  as  to  seats,  26 
South    Charles    Street    district, 

hours  per  week,  74 
South   Light   Street,   hours   per 

week,  74 
Space  behind  counter  of  stores, 

7-8 

Spencer,  Anna  Garlin,  168 
Spring  vacation,  97,  98 
Stairways  in  stores,  12-13 
Stenography,  154 
Stock  girls,  50,  52-53 

wages,  105-106 
Stock,  heads,  47,  48-49 

wages,  1 10 

Stock  taking,  79-80,  123-125 
Stools.     See  Seats. 
Store  construction,  1-18 
aisle  counters,  8-9 


Store  construction,  basements, 
15-16 

ceilings,  height,  14 

character  of  buildings,  1-2 

counter  space,  8 

doors,  5 

elevator  shafts  and  stair- 
ways, 12-13 

entrances  and  exits,  5 

first  floor,  7 

flooring,  9-10 

heating  vestibules,  5-7 

lighting,  16-18 

show  windows,  3-5 

slope  of  land,  2-3 

space  behind  counter,  7-8 

stock  cases,  7-8 

stories,  number,  3 

transoms  over  entrance 
doors,  ii 

ventilation,  10-16 

vestibule  and  heating  plan, 

5-7 

vestibules,  4-6 

wells  for  light  and  air,  13 
Store  ownership,  44-45 
Stories  in  store  buildings,  num- 
ber, 3 
Summer  hours,  80 

vacation,  98 
Sunday  work,  82 
Sundries,  115,  116-117 
Superintendents,  45 
Supper  money,  123-128 
Swett,  Maud,  78 
Swinging  doors,  double,  5,  6 


THANKSGIVING  Day,  82 

Time  limits  for  lea vingfloor,37~38 


215 


INDEX 


Toilet  facilities,  31,  35-38 
Training  in  salesmanship,    159- 

'73 

auspices,  164 

Boston,  163-168 

cases,  146-158 

Cincinnati,  163 

economic  effect,  172-173 

Hutzler   Brothers   and  Co., 
162 

instruction,  161-162 

lack,  159-161 

Munich,  163 

need,  163 

New  York  City,  168-170 

personal  effort,  171-172 

possibilities    of    the    work, 
171-172 

Prince,    Lucinda,     165-168, 
187 

Providence,  R.  I.,  163 

public,  163 

transition    to   skilled    occu- 
pation, 170 

Wanamaker  stores,  162 
Transoms  in  show  windows,  4,  1 1 

over  entrance  doors,  1 1 
Tuesday,  61,  62 


UNEMPLOYMENT,  97 
Upholstery  department,  50 


VACATIONS,  97-102 

Variation  in  number  of  employes. 

See  Seasonal  Work. 
"Ventilation       of       Buildings" 

(Snow  and  Nolan)  cited, 

II 


Ventilation  of  stores,  10-16 
Vestibule  and   heating  plan   of 

stores,  5-7 
Vestibules  of  stores,  4-6 


WAGES,  104-122 

apprentice  hands,  105 

assistant  buyers,  no 

basis,  104 

bonus,  128,  129-130 

buyers,  1 10-1 1 1 

cash  girls,  105 

cashiers,  107 

Christmas  money,  128-129 

Christmas  overtime,  125-126 

cost  of  living  and,  1 14-122 

discounts  to  employes,  128. 

131-132 

extra  pay,  128-132 
fines,  132-134 
heads  of  stock,  1 10 
illness,  deductions  for,  132 
lunch,  free  provision,  132 
milliners,  108 
modifications,  123-134 
night  work,  123-128 
overtime,  123-128 
overtime  rate  of  pay,  126- 

128 

premiums,  128,  129-130 
range,  weekly,  (Table)  113 
rate  for  overtime,  126-128 
reasons  for  low,  1 19-122 
saleswomen,  108-110 
sewing    machine   operators, 

107-108 
social  conditions,  influence, 

119-122,  128 
stock  girls,  105-106 


216 


INDEX 


Wages,  stock  taking,  123-125 
supper  money,  123-128 
system  of  payment,  1 1  i-i  14 
workroom  overtime,  126 
wrapper  girls,  106 

Wanamaker  store  in  New  York, 

13 

Wanamaker  stores,   instruction, 

162 

Washington's  Birthday,  82,  90 
Week,  number  of  working  hours, 

with  diagrams  and  tables,  70- 

82 

Welfare  work,  34,  43 
Wellesley  College,  168 
West  Baltimore  Street,  146 
West   Baltimore  Street  district, 

hours  per  week,  74 
Widows,  148 

Williamson,  May,  story  of,  1 54 
Windows,  show,  3-5 
Winter  hours,  75-79,  82 


Wm.  Filene's  Sons  Co.,  165,  169, 

171 
Women,  percentage  in  stores,  57, 

58,59 

Women's  Educational  and  In- 
dustrial Union,  Boston,  163- 
168 

Work  for  women,  Baltimore 
view,  120-121 

Work,  hours  of.  See  Hours  of 
Work. 

Working  force.  See  Organi\a- 
tion. 

Working  homes  for  women,  legis- 
lation on,  78-79 

Workingwomen,  percentages  in 
eastern  cities,  120 

Workroom,  managers,  49 
overtime  pay,  126 

Wrappers,  50,  52 
wages,  1 06 


2I7 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


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